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IN THE 



BY 

SAMUEL WHITE PATTERSON 

A.M., Ph.D. 

Head of the Department of English 
New York Training School for Teachers 





) ) J 
o 




NOBLE AND NOBLE, Publishers 

76 Fifth Avenue - - New York 




t *-> 




Copyright, 1923 

BY 

NOBLE AND NOBLE 



AUG 13 iy23 

©C1A711565 


\ 

. \ 






CONTENTS 


V 


* 


PAGE 

Study Helps for Silent Reading. Y { 

Specific Aims . v iii 

An Airplane View of New York.3 

Our City’s Long Story.8 

The Voyage of the Half Moon . 12 

A Boy’s Story of Hudson’s Discovery .... 15 


STORIES OF MANHATTAN 


When the Dutch Ruled New Amsterdam ... 20 

Early Days of Bowling Green.24 

Later Days in New Amsterdam.28 

When the English Came to New York .... 31 

Bowling Green and the Battery.35 

The Resting Place of Some Famous Americans . . 39 

The Story of City Hall Park.43 

A Trip Around City Hall Park. 47 

The Sons of Liberty on Golden Hill.52 

McGown’s Pass in Central Park.55 

The Story of Nathan Hale.60 

The Battle on Harlem Plains.64 

Washington’s Headquarters (Formerly called the Jumel 

Mansion).67 

The Story of Fort George and Fort Washington . . 72 

The Story of Margaret Corbin. 77 

A Great Day at Fraunces Tavern.80 

The Dyckman House and Park.84 


IX 







PAGE 

The Blockhouse in Central Park.87 

The Monroe House and Why It Is Famous ... 91 

The First Trip up the Hudson by Steamboat ... 94 

The Poet of Chelsea.98 

The Story of Samuel Morse.102 

The Story of Peter Cooper.104 

The Man Who Wrote Home, Sweet Home .... 107 

How Irving Place Got Its Name. 110 

The Story of a Lover of Birds.114 

A Weak Little Boy Who Became President . . . 117 

A Little Girl Who Became the Writer of a Famous 

Song.120 

A Trolley Ride up Broadway.124 

Eight Miles on a Bus.130 

Riverside Drive by Night.136 

Six Interesting Buildings.139 

Around Manhattan Island by Boat.147 


STORIES OF BROOKLYN 


The Battlefield of Brooklyn. 157 

The Navy Yard in Brooklyn. 163 

Fort Greene Park. 166 

Where the Prison Martyrs Are Resting .... 168 

Prospect Park and the Memorial Arch . . . .170 


STORIES OF THE BRONX 


The Story of Throg’s Neck and Fort Schuyler . . 175 

Van Cortlandt Park and Mansion. 180 

Bronx Park.185 

Bronx Park Museum and Flower Gardens . . . 188 

The Animals in Bronx Park.191 

The Lorillard Mansion in Bronx Park .... 194 


x 

















PAGE 

Rodman Drake Park at Hunt’s Point .... 196 

Poe Cottage and Park in Fordham. 198 

STORIES OF QUEENS 

The Bowne House in Fluspiing. 203 

Newtown and the Moore and De Witt Clinton Houses 206 
The King Mansion in Jamaica. 211 

STORIES OF RICHMOND 

Captain Billop’s Famous Sail. 217 

A Famous Meeting at the Billop House .... 221 

The Story of Fort Tompkins and Fort Wadsworth . 225 

How Five Little Girls Saw New York .... 229 

A Pageant of New York—Past, Present, Future . . 240 


xi 



NEW YORK THEN AND NOW 


AN AIRPLANE VIEW OF NEW YORK 

If we should go up in an airplane and fly over 

The City of New York, what should we see? Well, 

we mav be sure that we should see one of the most 
*/ 

wonderful cities in the world. 



(c) Major Hamilton Maxwell, from Aeromarine Flying Boat 
‘ ‘If We Should Go Up in an Airplane” 

3 





















4 










(c) Fairchild Aerial Camera Corporation 


Wonderful Cities in the World” 


5 












First of all, there is the Hudson River flowing 
between Manhattan and New Jersey into New York 
Bay. Manhattan Island looks like a long tongue. 
To the east of Manhattan is the East River which is 
not really a river but a narrow waterway connecting 
the bay with Long Island Sound. 

North of Manhattan is the Borough of The Bronx. 
Between the boroughs are Spuyten Duyvil Creek, the 
Harlem Ship Canal, and the Harlem River. A num¬ 
ber of islands may be noticed near where the East 
and Harlem Rivers come together. 

East of Manhattan Island are the Boroughs of 
Brooklyn and Queens which are partly separated by 
Newtown Creek. Just north of the creek lies Wel¬ 
fare Island. This used to be called BlackwelEs. 

In the Upper Bay and in the Lower Bay are 
several islands whose names and use we should know. 
One of these is Ellis Island where immigrants land. 












Immigrants are people from other countries, who 
come to America to make their home. Another island 
is Bedloe’s on which the Statue of Liberty stands. 
South of this is the large island called Staten Island. 
The Narrows will be seen between Staten Island and 
Long Island, connecting the two bays. 

In each of the boroughs are hills and valleys. 
Years ago there were many more, but, as the city has 
grown, the hills have been cut away for houses and 
streets. There are also large parks in most of the 
boroughs. 

Many miles of water front have helped to make 
New York one of the busiest cities in America. Ships 
from all parts of the world enter its bays and rivers. 
The high land and the deep waters have given the 
city’s six million people both health and pleasure. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What river flows between Manhattan and New Jersey? 
Into what bay does it flow? 

2. Is the East River really a river? What is it? What 
does it connect? 

3. Where is the Harlem River? Where is the Harlem Ship 
Canal ? 

4. Where is Welfare Island? What was the former name of 
this island? 

5. Name two important islands in the bay. What is each 
island used for? 

6. What is meant by The Narrows? 

7. Is the city flat or hilly? 

8. Why is New York one of the busiest cities in the world? 


7 



OUR CITY'S LONG STORY 


Oitk city lias a long story to tell, for it is about 
three hundred years old. It is very large, too, and 
has always had people from many different nations 
walking its streets. 

At first came men and women from Holland, who 
settled on Manhattan Island, Staten Island, and 
Long Island. These people were either traders or 
farmers. They found that men with reddish skins 
were already living here. These Indians were unlike 
the Dutchmen from Holland. They spoke differently, 
they dressed differently, they lived differently. The 
Indians hunted wild animals in the woods. They 
fished in the rivers and in little streams that then 
flowed where some of our streets are now. Canal 
Street was one, and East Fifty-first Street was an¬ 
other. 

The Dutch bought Manhattan Island at a very low 
price and remained at peace with the red men for 
many, many years. Then something happened. The 
city of New Amsterdam, as the Dutch called New 
York, was captured by the English. They believed 
that it should be theirs. A long time before, all the 
land on the shore of the Atlantic -Ocean had been 
claimed for them by a sailor named John Cabot. The 

8 



American Museum of Natural History 


Relief Map of New York and Vicinity 


9 







English king had sent Cabot over here a few years 
after Columbus discovered America. Columbus had 
seen only the islands far from the shore, but Cabot 
reached the mainland. 

In the year 1776 another great change took place. 
Our country felt that England was not treating her 
as she should be treated. Washington was made the 
leader, and, after a long fight, the colonies became 
free. Once again New York had a new form of gov¬ 
ernment. Since that time the little city of New York 
has grown larger and larger. Streets have been made 
longer and more houses have been built. 

While many people were settling Manhattan 
Island, some were living on Long Island across the 
East River. There were others on Staten Island 
across the bay. People had also settled along the 
Harlem River in what we now call The Bronx. 

In the year 1898 the present great city was formed. 
The old city of New York, the city of Brooklyn, and 
Long Island City became one big city. Many smaller 
towns and villages also joined to form Greater New 
York. Five boroughs were then named. They are: 
Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and 
Richmond. Today there are nearly six million people 
in these five boroughs. 

All through the three hundred years of its life, 
men and women of many races have come to New 
York to live. Some have given their time and atten¬ 
tion to its schools and churches. Others have built 
its houses and planned its streets and railways. Still 
others have made its docks for ships of the sea and 

boats on the rivers. There have been writers of books 

10 


and songs. There have also been workers in stores, 
shops, and factories. Millions of people, men and 
women, boys and girls, have served our city and 
helped to make it great. 

Let us be proud of New York. It will be a great 
city as long as we make and keep it great. Be sure 
that you do nothing to injure its good name. Work 
to keep it the city it should always be! 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. How old is New York? 

2. Who were the first white men to come here to live? 

3. Whom did they find here? How were these people dif¬ 
ferent from the white men? 

4. Who took New Amsterdam from the Dutch? Why? 

5. Who was Columbus? What did he discover? 

6. When was the present city of Greater New York formed? 
Name the cities that became part of the new big city. 

7. How many boroughs are there ? Name them. 

8. How many people are there in Greater New York? 

9. How may we keep our city great? 


11 



TIIE VOYAGE OF THE HALF MOON 


It was Saturday in the month of April more 
than three hundred years ago. A little sailing vessel 
lay in the harbor of the city of Amsterdam in Hol¬ 
land. She was awaiting the order to begin a voyage 
that, it was hoped, would lead through America to 
the Pacific Ocean. 

The bow of the ship was round and painted green. 
Most of her hull was brown. A red lion with golden 



































mane appeared as an ornament. On the broad stern 
was the picture of a half-moon surrounded by a num¬ 
ber of yellow stars and white clouds. The Half Moon 
was very small. None would think of crossing the 
ocean today in so frail a boat. Her length was about 
the width of one of our New York streets. She was 
not much wider than the sidewalk of some of our 
avenues. She had two full decks, and a small one 
besides. As she lay in the harbor ready to sail, her 
keel was only seven feet below the surface of the 
water. 

Such was the ship in which Henry Hudson and 
twenty men set sail on that April day so long ago. 
We can imagine how they must have worked at the 
ropes before everything was ready. Finally the order 
to start was given. The four flags of the Half Moon 
soon fluttered in the ocean breezes. 

Five long months passed before the little com¬ 
pany reached the river which has since been named 
the Hudson in honor of their captain. On their way 
across the Atlantic Ocean the crew had plenty of 
time to read the brass tablets that were near their 
sleeping bunks. It has been thought that perhaps 
the words on the tablets were: 

Honor thv father and mother. 

t/ 

Ho not fight without a cause. 

Good advice makes the wheels run smoothly. 

On each of the other voyages that Henry Hudson 
made, his young son John went with him. Although 
we are not sure that the boy sailed on the Half Moon , 

13 


it is quite possible that he did. If so, we may think 
of him as he stood near his father waiting the word 
to throw off the ropes and sail away. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Was the Half Moon a sail-boat or a steamboat? How 
large was she? 

2. Who was in charge of the Half Moon? How many men 
went with him? What did they hope to find? 

3. How long did it take to reach Sandy Hook? Why? 

4. Where did the voyage start? 

5. Where did it end? 



14 



A BOY’S STORY OF HUDSON’S DISCOVERY 


Note. If young John Hudson had written about 
the Half Moon's voyage of discovery, he would prob¬ 
ably have told a story somewhat like this one. 

We had a very rough trip across the great sea. 
Of course, I had been on the ocean before and didn’t 
mind the storms very much. One day we lost one 
of the small life-boats. On another day the front 
sail was torn in two. Then, when we thought all the 
bad weather was about over, a big wave struck the 
ship. Everybody was shaken up, but no great dam¬ 
age was done. 

On Wednesday, September 2, we entered a large 
bay. To the west was a sandy point of land. It 
seemed to have the shape of a hook or perhaps an 
arm stretching out to help us. It was there that 
Father thought it best to anchor. I was glad the trip 
was over and we had arrived at last in a beautiful 
bay. It was to be our place of rest for a week. 

It was well that we had two life-boats for they 
were in use every day. On Sunday morning one of 
the crew, an Englishman named John Coleman, with 
four other men took one of the small boats to see 
how big the bay was. Poor fellow! That was the 

15 


last time we saw him alive. As I looked out from 
Father’s cabin, I could see two strange narrow boats. 
They had several times as many men in them as were 
in our small boat. Though they were far olf, I knew 
that they were all fighting. 

Finally the two strange boats paddled away. Our 
men rowed back as quickly as possible. Poor John 
had been shot by an Indian arrow, and two of the 
other men were bleeding. I was very sorry, and 
everybody was sad. 

We soon learned much more about the strangers 
who had killed John Coleman. They had red skins 
and liked to wear fine furs. About their necks were 
copper collars. They smoked a weed called tobacco 
in pipes made of copper. These red men lived under 
a roof of young trees bent over and covered with 
bark. At night they slept on a bed of furs or of 
leaves. It was interesting to watch them eat. Some 
had corn; others, beans. Sometimes they shot a bird 
or caught a fish which they cooked for dinner. 

On Friday evening Father said he thought he 
would take up the anchors next morning. He wished 
to sail further up the bay. On the following day the 
Half Moon left the sandy hook of land, and a light 
breeze took us into a very narrow waterway. A high 
hill rose on each side. Then we were in a larger body 
of water, though a much smaller one than we had 
been in the week before. 

In a few minutes more the big rocks on each side 
of us seemed to come closer together so that we 
thought we must be at the mouth of a river. Father 

hoped it would take us to the western ocean for which 

.16 



American Museum of Natural History 

‘‘The Rocks on Our Left Rose Tall and Straight from the Water’s 

Edge ’ ’ 


lie was looking. As we sailed along, the rocks on our 
left rose tall and straight from the water’s edge. We 
had our two guns ready for the red men, should they 
try to fight us. At night Father with the mate looked 
over the map on the table in his cabin. I was tired 
and went to sleep. The oil lamp smoked a good deal. 
I think the candles were safer. 

Early in the morning I was at the cabin window. 
How beautiful the river seemed! At one point the 
two sides appeared to come together again as they 
had done before. It was not easy to know which way 
we should have to steer. But, when we rounded the 
bend in the river, the mountains rose high in the air. 
This was the most wonderful part of the journey. 

The next dav was Thursday. Mountains were to 

«y */ 

be seen to the west far away, but they did not reach 
the river’s edge as the other mountains did. At night 
we anchored as usual, because it was dangerous to 

17 




sail when we could not see where we were going. How 
still it was! The Half Moon hardly moved, the water 
was so calm. Only once in a while could we feel the 
little Dutch ship rock gently. 

Father went ashore now and then. Most of the 
red men up the river were friendly. At one place 
they gave a dinner in honor of Father. They cooked 
a pigeon or two and then killed a fat dog and skinned 
him. We knew that they wished to be friends for 
they broke arrows and sang and danced. 

On Saturday, September 19, Father thought we 
had sailed far enough. Some of the men were sent 
out to look around. When they came back Father 
knew that the western ocean must be somewhere else. 
So we stayed four days and then turned downstream. 
Before we pulled up the anchor the savages prepared 
a big dinner for us. It was a good dinner, too, for 
they had killed a deer and cooked it well. They gave 
Father a present before we sailed away. 

On our return trip we had two fights with the red 
men. As we passed below the high mountains that 
came to the water’s edge, a canoe left the shore. It 
came nearer and nearer. When it reached the Half 
Moon, a savage climbed the rudder to Father’s cabin 
window. As he was about to return to his boat, we 
noticed that he had a few things in his hands. What 
do you think he had taken ? Pillows, two shirts, and 
two belts. The mate was quick as a dart. He aimed 
a shot at the red man and hit him, too. 

On the second day in October our good ship 
reached a little creek. It ran inland to our left. Be¬ 
fore we knew it, a party of savages came out to us. 

18 


They did not seem friendly and were eager to fight. 
I thought for a while we should all be killed, but we 
finally drove them away. 

I have heard the red men give a name to the east 
bank of the river south of the creek where the fight 
took place. The Indian words are very different from 
ours. It is not easy to spell the name. As nearly as 
I can remember it, here is what they say: Manahatin. 
I have heard that all of the Indian names mean some¬ 
thing. Manahatin means island of hills . If this is 
so, it is a very good name. Isn’t it? 

For two whole days we lay at the mouth of the 
river, opposite “the island of hills.” Father was busy 
looking over the map most of the time, preparing to 
return to the Old World. On Sunday morning, Oc¬ 
tober 4, we took up the anchors and quietly sailed 
away. It was a bright, clear day and we made fair 
speed. More than a month passed before we saw the 
shore of England and were safe in port after our 
long voyage. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What kind of trip did the Half Moon have across the 
Atlantic Ocean? What happened? 

2. Where did the ship anchor? 

3. Tell what you know about these red men. 

4. Why did the Indians call the island Manhattan? 


19 



WHEN THE DUTCH RULED NEW 

AMSTERDAM 


The story of Henry Hudson’s voyage was soon 
known to many people in Europe. Within a few 
years the Indians were again surprised to see an¬ 
other boat come sailing up the bay. With her big 
white sails she looked like the Half Moon, but there 
were other men on board. A short time afterward, 
the red men heard strange sounds. They listened. 
The sounds were coming from the woods at the south¬ 
ern end of Manhattan Island. 

It was the sound of the hammer and the saw that 
the Indians heard. They did not know what this 
would mean for them. The new visitors were setting 
up the first log houses of our city. If you visit the 
building at 41 Broadway, you will read on a bronze 
tablet who the workmen were. Captain Adrian Block 
had recently come over from Holland. One day his 
ship was burned. He and his men had to stay ashore 
until another ship was ready. It was at this time, 
we believe, that the first houses were built near the 
spot marked by the tablet. 

Ten years after Captain Block built a shelter for 
himself and his men, the Dutch came to Manhattan 
Island to stay. This was in the year 1623. 

20 



Original in possession of the Title Guarantee and Trust Co. 

“The Entire Island of Manhattan Passed into the Hands of the 

Dutch” 


There were several early Dutch governors. One 

was Peter Minuit. He thought that the Indians 

might not always be so friendly as some of them 

seemed at first. When he met the red men's chief one 

day in the year 1626, he told him that the white men 

would like to buv the land. In a short time this was 

«• 

done. As there was no kind of money that the In¬ 
dians could use, a large number of trinkets and beads 
were given them. For not much more than twenty- 
four dollars’ worth of these the entire island passed 
into the hands of the Dutch. 

The Governor also believed that it would be wise 
to protect the settlers. Although the red men might 
be peaceable, there were other white men not far away. 

The English had already settled north and south of 

21 





New Amsterdam. A high pile or mound of dirt was 
therefore dug up to protect the little colony. This 
was the beginning of Fort Amsterdam. 

After a while, it seemed necessary to make Fort 
Amsterdam much larger and stronger. Another 
governor named Van Twilier had come to the settle¬ 
ment. It was his wish that the people enclose the 
most important part of their town. This was soon 
done. 

Within the fort were the Governor’s house, a 
church, and three windmills. There were also houses 
for about one hundred soldiers who had been sent 
from Holland. Although all of these buildings are 
gone, New York still has a church on which we may 
read the old name, “The church in the fort.” Of 
course, it is not in the fort today. You may see it at 
the corner of Fifth Avenue and Twenty-ninth Street. 
The old Dutch bell is just inside of the iron railing. 

We must not forget to mention the coming of the 




■■ 






From an old Print 

“This Was the Beginning of Fort Amsterdam’» 

22 





first teacher to New Amsterdam. His name was 
Adam Roelantsen. He was not very well liked. His 

9/ 

pupils were boys. Girls did not go to school but were 
taught at home by their mothers to keep house, to 
sew, and to cook. There was no schoolhouse at first. 
The books were poor and not very interesting. Later 
there were several schools, but they were not free for 
all people as ours are today. Only wealthy parents 
could afford to send their children to school in those 
early times. How different from our day! Educa¬ 
tion is free to all everywhere in our country. Boys 
and girls, men and women, may fit themselves to live 
better and happier lives. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Who came to Manhattan after Henry Hudson? 

2. What did they do here? Why? 

3. When did the Dutch first come to this country to live? 

4. Name an important early governor. 

5. Why did the Dutch buy Manhattan? How much did 
they pay for it ? 

6. How was Fort Amsterdam built? Why? 

7. Who was Van Twilier? What did he do? 

8. Did boys or girls go to school in the early Dutch times? 
What were girls taught? Where? 

9. Why is education free to everybody today? 


23 



EARLY DAYS OF BOWLING GREEN 


In front of Fort Amsterdam was a large open 
field which the Dutch called the Blaine. Since this 
field is still important, we should know something 
about it. When boys and girls go to the parks today, 
they must not think that the little Dutch children of 
three hundred years ago had no place to play. The 
oldest park in the city was theirs. Which one do you 
think it was ? It was the large open field in front of 
the fort. We now call it Bowling Green. 

A well and a pump were near the gate to the fort. 
For a long time these were the city’s only water¬ 
works. Every morning young people used to draw 
fresh water and carry it to their houses. IIow dif¬ 
ferent that was from our present great water supply 
which is brought to our very rooms from the moun¬ 
tains more than a hundred miles away! 

Close to the fort hung a bag. This was where the 
colonists received the few letters that were sent in 
those early days. Again we must think how different 
our post office is from theirs and how well we are 
served. 

Almost any afternoon in clear weather we might 
have seen the people of New Amsterdam enjoying 

themselves. We must not forget that most of their 

24 



Valentine’s Manual. 

Canal in Broad Street during Early Dutch Days 


days were spent at work. There was always plenty 
to do, but the people took time to play, too. Perhaps 
it is more pleasant to see them at play. 

As we looked out of the window of a little frame 
house, we might have noticed a number of men and 
women resting after the day’s work. Some of the 
youngest were at play. Everybody seemed neat and 
clean. The ladies wore long, full skirts and wide, 
white collars and caps. Some of the gentlemen had 
high fuff collars and long coats down to their knees. 
They wore short trousers, white stockings, and 
buckles on their shoes. A few men had bare heads, 
but many wore broad-brimmed, brown or black hats. 
Boys and girls were dressed much the same as their 
parents. The girls tied their hair neatly back. The 

long aprons they wore nearly touched their ankles. 

25 










A dog or two might be seen running here and 
there, trying to enjoy the day as much as anybody. 
A stray pig and possibly a well-kept cow were not 
far away. There were many mosquitoes, too. They 
made the Dutch work a little even at their play. A 
swamp, which was later called Collect Pond, lay only 
a short distance northeast of the fort. There the mos¬ 
quitoes were at home though they liked the cool 
breezes of the Plaine. They were healthy little fel¬ 
lows and just as lively as mosquitoes ought to be and 
are to this day. 

The first of May was a holiday. It was a day of 
joy and merry-making. Young men and young 
women might then be seen dancing on the Plaine. 
Older people as well as the younger folks enjoyed 
themselves. Peter and Jan were on the field. 
Cornelius and Adrian and Nicholas were there. 
Helena and Katrina and Ann were there, too, with 
Sara, Elizabeth, and Mary. The afternoon, we hope, 
was fair and cool. 

One day we might have seen the people standing 
aside with nobody daring to go on the Plaine. No 
one played; no one danced. Soon the gate to the fort 
opened. Out marched the soldiers. All eyes turned 
quickly. It was a fine sight. The air was filled with 
drum-beat and music. The steady foot-fall of the 
marchers made the people feel proud and safe. A 
few minutes more and the parade was over. The 
soldiers went back to their huts, and the men and 
women to their work. 

One more day we must see. It is Sunday. The 
week’s tasks are done. All business is still. The mar- 

26 


ket, which we see on the Plaine outside of the fort, 
is closed. Fathers and mothers, grandfathers and 
grandmothers, boys and girls, aunts and uncles, are 
dressed in their very best clothes. The little town 
is quiet. Most people seem to be going the same way. 
Why and where, we wonder ? Service will soon begin 
in “the church in the fort.” There we shall hear 
good Domine Bogardus who has lately come from 
Holland. The scene is peaceful. Big, white clouds 
are moving lazily across the sky. Trees and flowers 
in well-trimmed gardens seem, like their owners, to 
be dressed in their Sunday clothes. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where did the Dutch children play three hundred years 

ago? 

2. Where did the people get their water from in the early 
times ? Where, today ? 

3. Where was the post office under the Dutch rule? 

4. What did the Dutch ladies wear? What did the gentle¬ 
men wear? 

5. What did the people do on Sunday ? 


27 



LATER DAYS IN NEW AMSTERDAM 


More people came to New Amsterdam. The little 
town slowly grew farther and farther up the Island 
beyond the fort and the Plaine. At what is now 
Number 73 Pearl Street the first city hall was built. 
The Dutch called it the Stadt Huys. This meant 
State House. Above the second floor windows of the 
present building you may read its story in a few 
words. It was in the Stadt Huys that the city’s busi¬ 
ness was done. 

About twenty years after the first settlement, the 


Valentine’s Manual. 



“The Dutch Called the First City Hall the Stadt Huys” 

28 












Valentine's Manual. 


Stuyvesant 7 s House Was Called “White Hall” 


last Dutch governor arrived on Manhattan Island. 
His name was Peter Stuyvesant. You may see his 
name on one of the high schools of our city. It has 
also been given to one of the city’s parks and to one 
of its streets. 

Governor Stuyvesant was a stern man but a good 
leader for the colonv to which he came. He built his 

c/ 

house near the water’s edge. It w T as called White 

Hall. The Governor’s house has long since passed 

away, but you may still see its name on one of our 

downtown streets. Far to the north of the little town 

Peter Stuvvesant built another house. This stood 
•/ 

near what is now the corner of Second Avenue and 
Tenth Street. 

There had never been much trouble from enemies, 

29 













but Governor Stuyvesant felt that there was need 
of something stronger than the fort. His neighbors 
in New England were not always friendly with the 
people in New Netherlands. This name, New Nether¬ 
lands, belonged to all the Hutch settlements in 
America. Besides New Amsterdam there was an im¬ 
portant settlement called Fort Orange which is now 
known as Albany. 

In the year 1653 Peter Stuyvesant built a wooden 
fence or wall across the island to protect the settle¬ 
ment. Strong, young trees about six inches thick 
were cut down to make wooden posts that were placed 
upright in the ground. Behind this strong wall a 
high mound of earth was thrown up to keep it 
straight and stiff. The city now seemed well pro¬ 
tected. Of course, ships might still attack it from 
the south, but no one could easily do so by land from 
the north. 

For nearly fifty years this wall or palisade, as it 
was called, stood firm. Where most of it used to be, 
we have today a very famous street. It is known 
all over the world as Wall Street. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Who was the last Dutch governor? When did he come 
to New Amsterdam? 

2. What did Stuyvesant call his home? Where was it? 

3. What was the name of another important Dutch settle¬ 
ment? Where was it? 

4. When did Stuyvesant build his famous wall? Why? 
Where was it? How was it built? 

5. What is the name of the street where the wall once stood ? 

30 



WHEN THE ENGLISH CAME TO NEW YORK 


It was eight o’clock on a Saturday morning in 
early September of the year 1664. More than ten 
years had passed since Governor Stuyvesant built 
his famous wall. More than fifty years had come and 
gone since that September day when Henry Hudson 
entered the river that now bears his name. 

A broad field lay south of the Governor’s country 
house. A long, narrow road stretched away to the 
little city two or three miles distant. It is there 
today but is now well paved and much wider. It is 
called the Bowery, a Butch word meaning farm. 



Valentine’s Manual. 


Stuyvesant’ s Country House on the Bowery 

31 










There was a great stir in the country house of 
Governor Stuyvesant on that Saturday morning so 
long ago. Beyond the window-pane we might have 
noticed Peter Stuyvesant himself as he walked up 
and down. The Governor was in a very bad temper. 
Something had gone wrong for he seemed very much 
displeased. A heavy thump was heard on the floor, 
as that was a favorite w T ay in which the Governor 
used his wooden leg. Years before he had lost one 
of his legs in battle. A wooden one took its place. 

But why was the Governor angry ? We shall soon 
see. Near him sat another gentleman. He seemed 
calmer and did not say very much. His name was 
Colonel Richard Nichols. In the bay was the English 
ship that had brought him to New Amsterdam. 

A new flag flew from the strange masthead of 
Colonel Nichols’s ship. A new flag would soon fly 
from Port Amsterdam. The little Dutch trading 
town on Manhattan Island was about to be taken by 
the English. New Amsterdam was to become New 
York in honor of a famous Englishman, James, the 
Duke of York. 

An English governor came to the Stadt Huys. 
Fort Amsterdam was soon known as Fort James and 
later by other English names. Once again, within 
a few years, the Dutch ruled our city, but it was only 
for a short time. For more than one hundred years 
the English flag was to fly above the State House, or 
City Hall, as it was afterwards called. 

More people came to the slowly growing city. 
They were not all English. Almost from the begin¬ 
ning there had been people from France and England 

32 



as well as from Holland. Indeed, there were both 
Dutch and English sailors on the Half Moon when 
she sailed into the Hudson River. Of course, many 
more came from England after Colonel Nichols took 
the city from Governor Stuyvesant. Dutch names 
were often changed to English names. 

As the years i^assed by, new and longer roads 
were needed. The city, even in Dutch days, had 
lengthened some of its roads and widened them. It 
was no longer a little town about a fort. Pearl Street 
and Water Street and Whitehall Street became im¬ 
portant on the East Side. Greenwich Street was the 
main street along the Hudson. Broadway and the 
Post Road were growing northward. The Post Road 
was later called Park Row. 

There were a number of narrow paths or lanes 
between the wider and longer roads. Few of them 
still have their old names. One of the most interesting 

33 








of them has its ancient name in our time. The Dutch 
seem to have called it Maiden’s Path. We call it 
Maiden Lane. It is not far from Wall Street, and 
just east of Broadway. Why the street received its 
name nobody really knows. Some think that the 
Dutch maidens used it on wash-day, for a pretty 
brook of clear water ran near it. Others believe that 
it was just a beautiful path or lane where young 
people strolled on summer afternoons. It may be 
that both of these reasons are correct. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What does the word Bowery mean? 

2. Tell how yon think Governor Stuyvesant looked. 

3. Who was Colonel Nichols? Why did he come to New 
Amsterdam ? 

4. Why was the name New Amsterdam changed? What 
was the new name? 

5. How did Maiden Lane receive its name? 


34 



BOWLING GREEN AND THE BATTERY 


I BOWLING GREEN 

Bowling was one of the favorite games of the 
English in the early days. No better place could be 
found than the field which the Dutch had called the 
Plaine. We remember that this was the center of 
the colony while the men of Holland ruled New Am¬ 
sterdam. In the year 1732 the name was changed to 
Bowling Green. Bowls were big balls of wood weigh¬ 
ing about three and one-half pounds each. A white 
china ball much smaller than the bowls was placed 
on the Green. The winner was the person who could 
throw the bowls nearest the white ball. 

About the year 1770 a railing was placed around 
Bowling Green. Within this railing a lead statue 
was erected. A horse and his rider stood on a stone 
which rested on the Green. The statue was the figure 
of the English king, George III. Six years later the 
horse and his rider were both pulled down by the 
angry people. Lead bullets were more necessary than 
lead statues of the king. The fight for freedom had 
begun. Before it was over a new flag, the flag of the 
United States of America, was flying above the City 
Hall. 



Valentine's Manual 


1 ‘The Statue of George III Was Pulled Down by the Angry People ’’ 

The iron fence still stands around Bowling Green. 
When we pass it, let us think of the boys and girls 
of other days. They have always played there from 
the earliest times. Dutch children, English children, 
and American children have all enjoyed the Green. 
Perhaps, before any of them saw Manhattan Island, 
Indian children held their games on the same spot. 

If you go down to Bowling Green today, you will 
see a very different place from the Bowling Green 
that the early settlers knew. Some of the streets 
have the old names but with new spelling. The earli¬ 
est houses are gone. Only a few of the very old 
ones remain. Many of the streets are where they 
used to be, but they are wider and better paved. Fort 
Amsterdam and Fort James have given place to a 
large and beautiful building. It has a long name 

but not a very difficult one. It is called the United 

36 
















States Custom House. Some day you will study 
more about it. 


II THE BATTERY 

A few years after the English came to New York, 
their governor thought it best to place big guns south 
of Bowling Green. This was the first Battery. These 
guns were really on an island about three hundred 
feet from the shore. Many years later a building was 
placed there, which was used as a fort. It had no 
roof. Its name was Castle Clinton. 

When the great Frenchman, Lafayette, came to 
America in the year 1824, he was received at the 
Castle. Many other famous men were welcomed 
there. Later the old fort was changed into an amuse¬ 
ment hall. Its name was also changed and became 



“Castle Garden Is Now the Aquarium ’’ 

37 








Cast]e Garden. A number of well-known persons 

have entertained the people there from time to time. 

No doubt many of the boys and girls who read 

this book were not born in America. All who come 

to this country to make it their home are called im- 

«/ 

migrants. In the year 1855 and for many years later, 
Castle Garden was used as a landing place for these 
people. Today they land at Ellis Island across the 
bay. 

Castle Garden is now the Aquarium where many 
different kinds of fish may be seen. The Aquarium 
is one of the most interesting of New York’s public 
buildings. Visitors come from far and near. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. How did Bowling Green get its name? 

2. What were bowls? 

3. Whose statue was erected in Bowling Green? 

4. Why was the statue torn down ? What became of it ? 

5. What building has now taken the place of Fort Am¬ 
sterdam ? 

6. How did the Battery get its name? 

7. What was Castle Garden? What was it used for? 

8. What has become of Castle Garden ? 


38 



THE RESTING PLACE OF SOME FAMOUS 

AMERICANS 


One of the busiest streets in the whole world is 
Wall Street. It has been well known ever since the 
days when Peter Stuyvesant built his log wall across 
Manhattan Island to protect the little Dutch city 
from its enemies. The most important event in its 
long history, however, took place on April 30, 1789. 
On that day George Washington became the first 
President of the United States. The building in 
which the exercises were held is not there today, but 
a bronze statue of the great American marks the site 
at the corner of Wall and Broad Streets. 

Although Wall Street is so busy, there is, just 
across Broadway, one of the quietest spots in New 
York. It is Trinity Churchyard. A church has stood 
here for more than two hundred vears. Some of 
America’s most famous men lie buried in the ancient 
graveyard. Others, too, who deserve to be remem¬ 
bered, are resting in w 7 ell-kept graves. 

Through the iron gateway we notice the tomb of 
brave Captain Lawrence. In our second war with 
England James Lawrence was killed during a sea- 
fight. As he lay dying on the deck of his vessel, he 

39 


gave his last order to his men: “Don’t give up the 
ship!” These words have been cut into the stone 
above his grave. 

To the left, a short distance along the winding 
path, lies Alexander Hamilton, one of Washington’s 
closest friends. He was one of the greatest men in 
the United States more than a century ago. Far 
uptown he had a country house which is still standing 
on Convent Avenue near One Hundred and Forty- 
first Street. 

Two other famous persons lie buried here. They 
are Robert Fulton and William Bradford. 

Robert Fulton will always be remembered for it 
was he who built the first successful steamboat. We 
shall read of him elsewhere in this book. The in¬ 
ventor’s name may be found in many parts of the 
city where he lived and worked. A market, an East 
River ferry, a street in Manhattan, and a street in 
Brooklyn, have been given his name. A Hudson 
River steamboat is also called Robert Fulton . 

William Bradford owned the only newspaper in 
New York many, many years ago. At Number 81 
Pearl Street we may see the site of his first printing 
house. It was to this early printer that Benjamin 
Franklin came to ask for a position. Young Ben¬ 
jamin had traveled more than two hundred miles 
from his home in Boston. Although tired he knew 
that he must get work as soon as he could. William 
Bradford spoke kindly to the lad and was sorry that 
he had no place for him. He told him that there 
might be one in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin 

started at once upon the hundred mile journey. In 

40 


that way Philadelphia gained one of its greatest 
citizens. 

Other names of well-known Americans will be 
found in the old churchyard. Some have been here 
for more than two hundred years. The largest monu¬ 
ment of all, however, is in memory of the hundreds 



Benjamin Franklin 

a 









of unknown men who suffered and died in the British 

» 

prison-ships during the War of Independence. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What happened in Wall Street on April 30, 1789? 

2. Where does Captain James Lawrence lie buried? Why 
do we remember him? 

3. Who was Alexander Hamilton? 

4. Who else are buried in Trinity Churchyard? 

5. Why did Benjamin Franklin go to Philadelphia ? 


42 



THE STORY OF CITY HALL PARK 



Valentine's Manual 

“City Hall Park Was Once Larger Than It Is Today ’ 7 

43 


There was a time when City Hall Park was larger 
than it is today. The Post Office takes up part of 
the space which once belonged to the park. Some 
day this old building will be torn down, and the park 
will then be as large as it used to be. 

Many people believe that the red men had a village 
where City Hall Park is now. More than likely the 
Indians did live in that part of Manhattan Island. 





The Dutch used it as a parade ground. There the 
soldiers of New Amsterdam marched and drilled. 
The British kept the green as an open field for the 
enjoyment of the people. Once every year they came 
together to honor the king on his birthday. 

As young Americans, boys and girls will be most 
interested in this old park as it was in the year 1776. 
In that year it was very much like a large fort. As 
in the days of the Dutch, soldiers drilled on the green. 
England and America had been quarreling and would 
soon be fighting. 

It was on the grounds of this park that Alexander 

Hamilton drilled his company of young soldiers. One 

day a general saw the captain and liked the way he 

was doing his work. Washington soon afterward 

heard of this and asked to meet Captain Hamilton. 

In this manner these two great men became friends. 

On Tuesday, five days after our country had said 

that she must be free, Washington’s army marched on 

the park green. There they were told that July Fourth 

was the birthday of their country, and that they were 

now soldiers of the United States. Under one of the 

windows of the City Hall today there is a tablet 

which tells us all about this event. 

For many years after the War of Independence 

City Hall Park was a quiet place for the people on 

Sundavs and holidavs. 

«/ «/ 

In the year 1812 our country was again at war. 
There had been a great deal of fighting in the Old 
World. Our sailors and ships had often been cap¬ 
tured and the men badly treated by the nations that 

were at war. Finally it seemed necessary for our 

44 


country to prepare for war. Our soldiers were soon 
once more using the park as a drill-ground. 

Then came more years of peace. The city grew 
bigger and bigger, the streets were paved, and many 



New York Historical Society 

Alexander Hamilton 

45 





new houses were built. But all through these years 
there was trouble between the northern and the south¬ 
ern states of our country. In the year 1817 Governor 
Tompkins and other men said that there must be no 
more negro slaves in New York State. Men in other 
northern states thought the same. Men in the South, 
however, did not believe in this. They wanted to keep 
the slaves. The trouble became worse. At last, in 
the year 1861, war broke out. Once again soldiers 
were to be seen in City Hall Park. 

In our own time, too, war has thrown its dark 
shadow .across the same field. During the World 
War, meetings were held there, and City Hall Park 
was often crowded with people. Flags of many na¬ 
tions waved with Old Glory from the buildings. War 
speeches were heard there nearly every day. 

As we walk along Broadway today and look at 
the old buildings and park, let us remember that they 
have a long and interesting story to tell. Brave men 
and women have known both joy and sorrow in our 
city, but once again there is peace. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. How did the Indians use City Hall Park? The Dutch? 
The English? 

2. How did Washington first meet Alexander Hamilton? 

3. What news was Washington’s Army told at City Hall 
Park in 1776? 

4. For what was City Hall Park used in 1812 ? In 1861 ? 


46 



A TRIP AROUND CITY HALL PARK 


Let us walk around City Hall Park, beginning at 
St. Paul’s Cliapel, an old church which stands at 
Broadway and Fulton Street. The name of this 
street is familiar to all of us. Robert Fulton was 
the man who invented the first steamboat. Before 
his boat made the journey from New York to Albany, 
only sail-boats had been seen on the river. 

In St. Paul’s Chapel we may still see the seat in 
which George Washington sat. After the War of 
Independence had been won, Washington, as we 
know, became our first President. The nation’s 
capital city was then New York. On Sundays Gen¬ 
eral Washington went to church at St. Paul’s. 

It will be worth while to walk about the old grave¬ 
yard. Outside, in the church wall itself, is a monu¬ 
ment in memory of one of our bravest soldiers. In 
the very early days of the War of Independence 
General Montgomery lost his life. His body lies 
buried under the wall of St. Paul’s Chapel. French, 
German, British, as well as American soldiers have 
been laid to rest in this churchyard. 

Part of the Astor House is still standing on the 

block above St. Paul’s Chapel. The Astor House was 

47 


for many years one of New York’s famous hotels. 
Well-known men stayed there while visiting the city. 
The first good sidewalks were laid along this part of 
Broadway. 

On the west side of the park citizens of New York 
met from time to time during the exciting days before 
the war for freedom. The headquarters of the Sons 
of Liberty stood at the corner of Murray Street in 
the year 1776. These young men did not like the 
way the English king was treating the people of the 
colonies. They held meetings to talk over what they 
should do. Most of the Liberty Boys became brave 
soldiers in Washington’s army. 

Across Broadway is the statue of a young man 
named Nathan Hale. We shall read in another story 
how young Hale tried to help Washington. 

Let us turn into Chambers Street. On the uptown 
side where the big bank stands, there was once a 
burying ground. Many American soldiers who died 
in the prison across the street were buried there. For 
several years our soldiers were kept in the British 
prisons which stood in the Park. Large buildings or 
beautiful lawns are now in their place. 

As we pass around the corner, we should glance 
at the tall building with the street running through 
it. The city’s business became so great a few years 
ago that it was necessary to find more room. The 
old City Hall was not big enough. This very large 
building was therefore erected. 

Just south of the tall structure is the spot where 
the first free school once stood. It was, of course, 

very small and not much like the present Public 

48 



Valentine’s Manual. 

The First Free School in New York 


School Number One in Oliver Street. Only the num¬ 
ber remains the same. 

We shall now pass under the west end of Brook¬ 
lyn Bridge which is the oldest bridge across the East 
River. On our right is the place where the Martyrs’ 
Prison stood in the days of 1776. After the American 
soldiers had been captured at Fort Washington by 
the British, they were marched down to this old 
prison. How long the journey must have seemed! 
How long the tramp, tramp, tramp from where One 
Hundred and Eighty-third Street is today! 

Before we return to our starting point, we shall 
pass the place on Park Row where several small forts 
once protected the city. There were other forts also 

on the west side of the park. 

49 

























Let us finish our trip by a visit to the City Hall 
itself. More than a hundred years have passed away 
since it was erected. It has seen many an important 
event in the life of New York. The first city hall 
was called the Stadt Iluys, that is, State House. It 
stood in Pearl Street. The second was in Wall 
Street. The present City Hall is the third. 

In the yeaj* 1824 Lafayette, the good friend of 
America, visited New York. More than forty years 
before, he had fought with Washington. This time 
he came back to see the land he had helped to free. 
He was received at the Battery and later at the City 
Hall. All the people turned out to greet him as he 
rode along the gaily dressed streets. 

From time to time ever since the building was 













first opened, visitors from many lands have been 
welcomed on the marble steps of City Hall. In it the 
mayors of New York for more than a century have 
had their offices. 

Inside of the City Hall are a number of interest¬ 
ing rooms. In the famous Governor’s Hoorn there 
are pictures of many governors of states, who have 
helped make America great. A pleasant lady will 
show you about the place. She will show you the 
picture of Alexander Hamilton who took charge of 
the money of our country in the days when Washing¬ 
ton was President. In the same large room are chairs 
and a desk which were used by Washington himself 
in the first years of our country’s life. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Whom is Fulton Street named for? 

2. What great man went to St. Paul’s Chapel in 1789? 

3. Who was General Montgomery? Where is he buried? 

4. What was the Astor House? Is it still standing? 

5. Who were the Sons of Liberty? 

6. What tall building near City Hall Park has a street 
running through it? 

7. Where was the first public school? 

8. Where was the Martyrs’ Prison? Why was it so called? 

9. Is the present City Hall the first one built ? 

10. Where is the Mayor’s office? 

11. What should we see in City Hall? 


51 



THE SONS OF LIBERTY ON GOLDEN HILL 


There was great excitement on Broadway on 
January 18, 1770. Three thousand citizens crowded 
on the Common, which we now call City Hall Park. 
They were very much annoyed over something. For 
a long time there had been more or less trouble. Eng¬ 
land and her daughter, America, had not been getting 
along very well. Many meetings had been held dur¬ 
ing the four or five years that had just passed. 

At one time, four years before that January day, 
the people felt happy because they believed they had 
settled the trouble. Some young men set up a tall 
pole to celebrate, but the king’s soldiers promptly cut 
it down. Two other poles were set up and each in 
its turn came down. In March of the next year the 
soldiers tried to tear down the fourth pole, but they 
failed to do so. In December, more than two years 
later, a notice was printed and sent about the city. 
One of the Sons of Liberty had done this. It was 
an invitation to all to meet at the Libertv Pole. 

The citizens did not like the idea of having British 
soldiers living in their city. They disliked still more 
the idea of paying for the food of these men. Should 
they give supplies to soldiers whom they did not 

want? This was the question that the meeting was 

52 


called to answer. Everybody read the notice that 
had been posted. 

The soldiers did not like this way of doing things. 
They tried in every way to find out who had printed 
the notice. They sawed the Liberty Pole down and 
cut it into pieces. These they threw in front of a 
house where the Liberty Boys were holding a meet¬ 
ing at the corner of Murray Street. We need not 
say how angry the young men became. Within a 
week another pole was standing with the word 
LIBERTY nailed to the top. The letters were so 
large that everybody could see them. 

As we have read, three thousand persons crowded 
around the Libertv Pole on Januarv 18, 1770. The 
next day three of the king’s soldiers were caught in 
Maiden Lane. They had been putting up signs that 
the Sons of Libertv did not like. A few of the citizens 

47 

went to the Mayor’s office, taking the soldiers with 
them. It was not long before a number of other 
soldiers were seen hurrying to set their comrades 
free. 

How excited all the people were on that cold 
January day! Soldiers and citizens soon crowded 
the streets of the city. A great many were on John 
and William Streets. In those days this part of the 
city was known as Golden Hill. The soldiers lost 
their tempers and turned to attack the mob of citi¬ 
zens. In a moment the first American life in the 
War of Independence had been lost. Hew York had 
never seen such excitement. No one had ever heard 
so much noise. 

Two months after this fight on Golden Hill there 

53 


was trouble in Boston. Soldiers and citizens fought 
on the street and some of the citizens were killed. 
Five years later the war for freedom began. 

For a long time nobody seemed to know who had 
written the notice that had led to the trouble on 
Golden Hill. After a while the printer told who it 
was, and pretty soon Alexander McDougall was sent 
to prison. But, to the surprise of the soldiers, 
the prisoner had many friends who visited him very 
often. It was not long before he was set free. In 
Fraunces Tavern today, you may see the young 
man’s picture. During the war for liberty he became 
a general in the American army. 

Some day when you visit City Hall Park, you will 
see the new Liberty Pole. Nobody will ever tear it 
down. Americans will remember how the Sons of 
Liberty struggled near where it stands. First, they 
thought; then, they talked; then, they acted. That 
has been the way Americans have liked to do things. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Why was the first Liberty Pole erected? When? 

2. Why did the Sons of Liberty call a meeting of the people 
in 1770 ? 

3. How was the first American life lost in the War of Inde¬ 
pendence ? Where ? 

4. Who was Alexander McDougall ? What did he do ? What 
happened to him? 

5. Where is the new Liberty Pole? 

6. What should all of us remember to do? 


54 



McGOWN’S PASS IN CENTRAL PARK 


“Did you hear that shot?” The voice came from 
a room in the stone tavern on one of the hills at 
McGown’s Pass. The house is not there today, but 
the old Pass is still where it was in the days of 1776. 
You may see it near the Fifth Avenue entrance to 
Central Park at One Hundred and Sixth Street. 

“Did you hear that shot?” the same voice said 
again. 




Yes, very plainly,” was the reply from several 
persons. 

It was a September day in the year 1776. Close 
by the stone house ran Harlem Creek, and over to 
the east lay a swamp where there is a lake today. 
The Pass was a part of a very old road that led all 
the way from Bowling Green to Kingsbridge. Many 
an Indian had tramped along this pathway before 
the white men came. 

In the East River not far off was a British war¬ 
ship. It had been there for some time. All expected 
something to happen. When the shot was fired, 
everybody knew what it meant. 

At the foot of East Eiglity-ninth Street the 
Americans had a battery of small guns. The early 
morning firing was no doubt aimed at American sol- 

55 


diers stationed there. At that moment, the British 
army was landing on Manhattan Island. Down the 
East River at Thirty-fourth Street the men were 
stepping ashore. Washington’s men had already 
crossed from Long Island after the battle in August. 
The British were now following and expected to cap¬ 
ture the American army. 

“I hear the clatter of horses’ hoofs,” remarked a 
person in McGown’s Pass Tavern. 

“I’m sure they are coming our way,” said an¬ 
other. 

Several persons rushed quickly to the windows 
which faced the north. In the distance they could 
make out an American officer on horseback. How 
noble both horse and rider looked that morning! It 
was certain that important things were to happen 
very soon. The traveler quickly drew nearer and 
nearer; the dust rose from beneath the horse’s hoofs. 
Every one at the tavern window was sure that Wash¬ 
ington was the swift rider. He, too, had heard the 
shots from the warship. The general had ordered 
his horse and left headquarters at once. He passed 
the tavern at full speed. Then he was covered by a 
cloud of dust and was lost to sight. He was hurrying 
to take charge of his brave troops just below the 
Pass. 

Late in the afternoon of that September day the 
British commander marched his men up the Kings- 
bridge Road. Luckily Washington had passed by 
early enough to escape. Luckily, too, his soldiers 
were also able to get away. All of the Americans 
were soon moving northward to safety. The small 

56 



George Washington 


57 














army of Americans could not yet fight the large num¬ 
ber of well-trained British soldiers. 

The British hurried on close behind the Ameri¬ 
cans. It seemed, at first, that some of our men would 
be captured but none were. Most of our army had 
marched northward by way of the Hudson River 
roads. The king’s troops heard of this and crossed 
Bloomingdale Road to stop them. This road is about 
where upper Broadway is today. The redcoats were 
again too late, for the Americans had just passed by 
to their camps on Harlem Heights. 

The lights in the McGown house that evening were 
not for American soldiers to enjoy. The British army 
lay stretched across Manhattan Island. Far to the 
south flickered the dim lights of the city. Far to the 
north the patriot fires were burning low. No one 
could tell what might happen the next day. Most of 
our men must have felt that they would not rest very 
long. The Hollow Way, which we now call Manhat¬ 
tan Street, lay between the two armies. South of 
where Grant’s Tomb is today were the British red¬ 
coats. North of them, on what we now call Washing¬ 
ton Heights, were the Americans. 

We can only think of the feelings of the widow, 
Mrs. McGown, in the tavern at the Pass. Years be¬ 
fore, her husband had been lost at sea. Shortly after- 
ward she had bought the house with its ten acres of 
land. There she had made her home with her son 
from the day Jacob Dyckman sold her the place and 
handed her the keys. Now came the foreign soldiers 
to live in the house that she owned. How long they 
would stay, she could not tell. They did not know 

58 


themselves. Even tlieir speech was different from 
hers, for German soldiers, who were helping the 
British, had been left to guard the Pass. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where is McGown’s Pass? 

2. What road was the Pass a part of? 

3. Where did the British Army land on Manhattan 
Island after the Battle of Long Island? What did they expect 
to do? 

4. What did the Americans do when the British landed on 
Manhattan ? 

5. Did the British cut them off? 

6. Where did the American Army camp? Where did the 
British ? 

7. Who kept the tavern at McGown’s Pass? 


59 



THE STORY OF NATHAN HALE 


Nathan Hale was a young captain in Washing¬ 
ton’s army. Before he became a soldier, he had been 
a school teacher. When trouble broke out with the 
mother country, Nathan Hale was one of the first to 
say he would help America. 

In the summer of the year 1776 we had lost the 
Battle of Long Island. In September, the small 
American army was in camp on Manhattan Island. 
The enemy were in Brooklyn and in what is now 
the Borough of Queens. General Howe, the British 
commander, lived at Newtown. Those were anxious 
days for Washington. He wished to know how long 
General Howe would remain at Newtown. He also 
wished to know how long the British soldiers would 
be kept on the other side of the East River. Nobody 
could tell him. 

All along the bank of the river Washington’s men 
were watching night and day. But this was not 
enough. A man was needed to go on a very danger¬ 
ous errand. He was to go into the enemy’s camp and 
find an answer to this question: How soon will Gen¬ 
eral Howe move his army from Long Island to Man¬ 
hattan ? 

Captain Nathan Hale said he was willing to make 

60 


the trip and bring back the answer. He took off his 
soldier’s uniform and dressed himself as a school¬ 
master. Instead of the bright clothes of an army 
captain he wore a brown suit and a round, broad- 
brimmed hat. 

It was about the time in September when school 
opens that Nathan Hale started on his errand. We 
know how hard it must have been to say good-bye. 














Some of his friends thought that they would never 
see him again. They knew that if he were captured 
he would have to die. This was a rule of war. 

From the King’s Bridge Hale went through what 
is now the Borough of The Bronx. Then he walked 
farther to find a boat. He wished to cross Long 
Island Sound. It was not very many days before he 
learned that Captain Pond was going to sail. Nathan 
Hale seems to have known the captain and asked to 
be taken on board. 

As soon as he reached the opposite shore, there 
was great danger for the American soldier wherever 
he went. Hale might be seen at almost any time. 
Just where the young man traveled after this, we do 
not know. Some believe that he was able to cross 
to Manhattan Island. Some even think that he was 
in sight of his friends in the American camp in 
Harlem. 

On the evening of September 22, 1776, the Ameri¬ 
can officers at the Roger Morris House heard a horse¬ 
man coming up the road. Only a few days before, 
Washington had come to the old house to make it 
his headquarters. It still stands at One Hundred and 
Sixtieth Street and Edgecombe Avenue. 

The horseman dropped from his horse and soon 
told the sad news of Hale’s death. At eleven o’clock 
on that very morning Nathan Hale had given his life 
for his country. He had been captured the evening 
before by the British guard. After a few questions 
had been asked he admitted what he had been doing. 
On the morning of the next day he was hanged as 
a spy. 


62 


The place where Nathan Hale gave his life for 
our freedom was not many miles south of Washing¬ 
ton’s headquarters. At the corner of First Avenue 
and Fifty-first Street stood the Beekman Mansion. 
This was used by General Howe as his headquarters, 
after he left Newtown and crossed to Manhattan. 
The shore of the East River was not very far off. 
From the windows of the house the British warships 
could be seen. Close by it ran a little brook of clear 
water which made its journey slowly into Turtle Bay. 
Somewhere near the Beekman House Nathan Hale 
last saw the light of morning. It was probably about 
six blocks south, a few yards from the river’s edge. 

As we walk along Broadway today, let us not for¬ 
get to stop and see the statue of Captain Nathan 
Hale. It is in City Hall Park. Upon the stone on 
which it stands a few words have been placed. They 
were the last that the famous patriot-spy ever spoke: 

1 REGRET THAT I HAVE BUT ONE LIFE TO LOSE FOR MY 

COUNTRY 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What had Nathan Hale done before he joined the army? 

2. What did Hale go to find out ? 

3. Where were the British soldiers? Where were the 
Americans ? 

4. How was Hale dressed when he entered the British lines? 

5. If he were captured what would happen to him? Why? 

6. Was Hale captured? What happened? 

7. What were his last words? 

8. Where does his statue stand today? 

63 



THE BATTLE ON HARLEM PLAINS 


From just north of Grant’s tomb to the hill oppo¬ 
site is a steel bridge. Underneath this bridge is 
Manhattan Street. In the year 1776 there was no 
bridge, and the street below was a wide road called 
the Hollow W ay. 

The hill north of the Hollow Way was called Har- 

4 / 

lem Heights. It was there that Washington’s army 
was in camp. The hill south of the Hollow Way was 
known as Harlem Plains. There the British were 
under command of General Howe. The enemy lines 
extended southeast to where Central Park is today. 

Washington was anxious to learn what the enemy 
were going to do. Only a few days before, the British 
army had been on Long Island. A young American 
captain named Nathan Hale had gone to find out as 
much as possible. Before he could return to tell 
Washington, the British army had crossed from 
Long Island to Manhattan. There they were on the 
sixteenth of September in the year 1776. 

Before day dawned about one hundred twenty 
Americans led by brave Thomas Knowlton, moved 
quietly across the Hollow W 7 av. They thought that 
perhaps they might find the British sleeping. Per¬ 
haps, too, they might learn a great deal about what 
the enemy were expecting to do. Then they would 

64 


return to camp. As the Americans moved along the 
road, they were discovered. A fight took place. After 
the loss of ten of his men, Colonel Knowlton thought 
it best to go back. 

It was certain that there were only about three 
hundred of the British near-by. Washington believed 
that he could capture them. Even if he could not 
do so, his men would feel satisfied that they had 
at least tried. Ever since their defeat on Long 
Island many of the American soldiers had been sad 
and unhappy. If they could win a battle on Harlem 
Plains they would be more cheerful. Washington 
noticed that some of the enemy soldiers were on the 
hill guarding the road below them. They were near 
what is now One Hundred and Twentieth Street in 
Morningside Park. 

The order was soon given to climb the hill and 
fight the British on the Plains above. One body of 










Americans was to go to tlie rear. Another and much 
larger body of men was ordered to attack the hill in 
front. 

By noon there were about eighteen hundred 
American soldiers in battle. The British were being 
pushed back from the hilltop to a field a short dis¬ 
tance away, where Columbia University now stands. 
Although his men were winning the battle, Wash¬ 
ington knew that not far south were the main troops 
of the enemy. If he waited too long, his little force 
might be taken. He therefore gave the order to 
retreat. 

That night, the Americans built their camp-fires 
north of the Hollow Way as they had done before. 
They were tired but happy. They had shown what 
they could do and were proud of their good work. 
Only one thing made them sad. Some of their friends 
of the evening before would never be at the camp¬ 
fires again. Two heroic leaders would be seen no 
more. Such was the price the men of long ago had 
to pay for the freedom that you and I enjoy today. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where was the Hollow Way? 

2. Where were Harlem Heights? Who were camped there? 

3. Where were Harlem Plains? Who were camped there? 

4. Who was Thomas Knowlton? What did he do? Why? 

5. What happened to Knowlton’s men? 

6. What did Washington order his men to do? Why? 

7. What happened to the American forces? 

8. Where was the battle fought? 

66 



WASHINGTON’S HEADQUARTERS 


FORMERLY CALLED THE JUMEL MANSION 

Every New York boy and girl should visit Wash¬ 
ington’s Headquarters in Roger Morris Park. The 
old house used to be called the Jumel Mansion and 
also the Roger Morris House. It stands on a high 
hill overlooking the Harlem River at One Hundred 
and Sixtieth Street and Edgecombe Avenue. If its 
walls had tongues, how gladly we should listen to 
their story! These walls would tell us of the old 
city ten miles down the long road. They would tell 
us how the city gradually grew larger and larger, and 
how road after road was cut through. They would 
also let us know how these roads were well paved and 
became streets and avenues. 

The fine view to the south is somewhat shut off 
now by the new houses that have been built. If we 
could have stood on the balcony above the main en¬ 
trance, during all the years since 1765, how many 
things we might have seen! 

Let us enter the house and visit for a few minutes. 
We shall hear the walls speak. 

“We are very, very old,” the walls murmur not 

unhappily. “We have seen and heard a great many 

67 



Washington’s Headquarters (Jumel Mansion) 


famous persons. These people have all passed away, 
but we are still strong. There are few as strong as 
we are even in our old age. 

“When Roger Morris brought us together in the 
year 1765, we were pleased at once. Our friends were 
the hard floorings, the high ceilings, and the big 
windows. 

“The trees and green grass about us have been 
beautiful. We have enjoyed the cool breezes from 
the river. When the workmen had finished their 
part, we soon heard strange voices. Our owners had 
come to live in their new house. Their names were 
Roger and Mary Morris. Here they lived happily 
with their children for several years. The merry 
laughter of the house made us glad. 

4 i Ten years had passed pleasantly by when a great 
change came into our lives. We could not under¬ 
stand at first just what the trouble was. There were 
many strange words spoken at meal-time. One day 

in the year 1775 we missed Colonel Roger Morris. 

68 




Other days followed and then we learned what was 
the matter. Our owner had left New York. Men 
and women had not been pleased with their king for 
a long time past. Indeed, most of them seemed ready 
to fight for their freedom. Roger Morris did not 
agree with these people. He believed that they were 
wrong in what they were about to do. 

“We learned later that the Colonel did not wish 
to fight against his American friends. At the same 
time he did not wish to fight with them against his 
king. The whole story was then told. As the mail- 
boat sailed away for England one bright morning, 
Colonel Morris was on it. ’ ’ 

At this point in their story we can fancy that we 
hear more than one wall sigh with grief. The War 
of Independence brought a number of new faces and 
many new voices. 

“Finally on a dark night in September in the 
year 1776, 7 ’ the big front wall begins, “there was a 
sound of horses ’ hoofs on the road. Several strangers 
entered the house. They were queerly dressed and 
seemed to be soldiers. One of the strangers was very 
tall and straight. We were all sure that he must be 
the leader. Of course, we could not tell, for nobody 
spoke much. As the men walked in, we could see in 
a few minutes that they had come to stay for some 
time. 

“A great man was now in the house of Roger 
Morris. His name was George Washington and per¬ 
haps we should not be alive today if he had not come. 
The general looked a little tired, we thought. Later, 

we learned that his men had lost a battle on Long 

69 


Island only two weeks before. Although Washing¬ 
ton expected to stay for a long time, he remained for 
little more than a month.” 

At this point, the front wall stops speaking. 

“We did not know how famous the old house 
would become because of Washington’s visit,” says 
the wall leading back from the main door. “Within 
a few days, we heard the sound of guns about two or 
three miles away toward the south. Very often, we 
could hear a voice giving orders. Hardly a day 
passed quietly. Soldiers moved in and out and seemed 
to be in a great hurry.” 

After a few minutes of silence, we shall learn the 
story of one of the rooms in the old house. It is the 
room on the right as we enter. 

“In the room to the right,” says our friend, the 
front wall, “Washington took dinner at three o’clock 
in the afternoon. Usually, there were two or three 
guests. Although it was a time of war, how you 
would have enjoyed those afternoons! 

“As you walk about the room, you will see pic¬ 
tures of many famous persons. In glass cases are 
all sorts of interesting things. Most of them were 
in use while Washington lived in the Roger Morris 
House. Upstairs there are wooden and china plates, 
pocketbooks, and shoe-buckles. In the old guard- 
room is a collection of bottles and cups and saucers 
which were found in the huts of the soldiers of 1776. 
This part of Manhattan Island was a large camp in 
those days. 

“On the second floor are several important rooms. 
There is the room which some people have believed 

70 


was Washington’s bed-room. Near it is the one in 
which the great Frenchman, Lafayette, once slept. 

“This mansion has heard many a story of joy 
and sorrow. When you grow older, you may wish 
to read about the Jumel family that lived in it 
for more than fifty years. Many people still call the 
house by their name. The name we should like every¬ 
body to remember is neither Jumel nor Roger Morris. 
It is the name of the Father of his Country, George 
Washington. What do you think? Many persons 
now call it Washington’s Headquarters.” 

Here the walls stop speaking. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What other name do you know for this house? 

2. Where is it? 

3. Who built it? When? 

4. What great General made his headquarters there ? 

5. What do we find in the old mansion today ? 

6. What great Frenchman slept in this house ? 

7. Why has it been called the Jumel Mansion? Why should 
we call it by another name? 


71 



THE STORY OF FORT GEORGE AND 
FORT WASHINGTON 


It was Sunday afternoon in tlie middle of Novem¬ 
ber in the year 1776. A sharp breeze was blowing 
over the hills. For hours the weary feet of American 
soldiers had been heard tramping in the dust of Mc- 
Gown’s Pass in what is now Central Park. Their 
faces told that they w 7 ere far from happy. Company 
after company marched slowly by. 



Valentine's Manual 

Old Sugar House Used as a Prison by the British 

72 










The rebels look rather sad,” said the German 
guard at the tavern. He was right—the rebels were 
sad. A few hours before, they had been lighting for 
freedom. But they had been captured and were on 
their way to prison. There were still seven or eight 
miles to go before they halted at the old prison in 
what would some day be called City Hall Park. 

If on one of the days following, a homesick young 
soldier had been permitted to write a letter to his 
mother, perhaps this is what he would have said: 


30 November 1776 

Dear Mother: 

I am now a prisoner of the British, but do not 
worry for I am quite well. I hope this post will find 
you also well. How is Sister ? Has little George been 
good? Tell him he is named after a great man. I 
know it. 

We had to give up the fort but it wasn’t Wash¬ 
ington’s fault. Perhaps nobody was to blame. But, 
oh, what a day we had! It was Saturday, you re¬ 
member, just two weeks ago. We fought a good fight, 
but we were caught like rats in a trap! 

Near me as I write this letter is a poor chap. He 
was shot when the British took Laurel Hill. It wasn’t 
much of a wound so the doctors haven’t bothered 
about him. He suffers a good deal though. He bears 
it well but he can’t sleep. He wakes up often and 
next day lie tells us that he has dreamed of Colonel 
Baxter. Baxter was the brave soldier who tried to 
hold the hill. He was killed in the attack. My young 

73 



friend was near him when he fell. The picture of 
the battle seems to come back every night. 

Yesterday, my friend’s chum told me a good deal 
about the fight on Laurel Hill. The British are going 
to call it Fort George, I believe. Well, let them. I 
suppose they will rename Fort Washington after the 
German who took it. We shan’t want either of them 
for many a day. 

The fight started early Saturday morning. You 
see, the big fort was on a high hill overlooking the 
North River. (Some call it the Hudson.) The hill 
is the highest on the island, they say. It was a strong 
fort, too. It had five sides and looked big enough. 
General Greene knows how to build a fort. We 
thought it could stand anything. But there were too 
many of us in it. We could hardly move to the guns. 

Not a mile north of Fort Washington was another 
fort on Forest Hill. My, what a time our men had 
there! But they gave the Germans something to re¬ 
member before they reached the top. For nearly 
three hours there was fighting. We had. only six 
hundred against their five thousand. Some time I’ll 
write you about Margaret Corbin. She was as good 
as any of us that morning. Poor John, her husband, 
was killed and she took his place. Then she was hit, 
too. I hope she will be better soon. 

Laurel Hill is on the Harlem River. It is not 
across the river but on the Manhattan side. As I 
have said, the enemy will call it Fort George. There’s 
where the redcoats came up from their boats on the 
Harlem. But they had to fight for what they took. 

Over on the other side of the river we still have a 

74 



All That Eemains of Fort Washington 

line of forts. North of King’s Bridge, we have 
several more. 

After a sharp fight we had to leave Laurel Hill 
and inarch down to the big fort. There was a British 

75 












warship in the Hudson not far off. They called her 
the Pearl. She had a great deal to do with the battle. 

Two or three miles below Fort Washington our 
men had thrown irp the earth in high heaps. These 
kept the redcoats away for a while. But it was no 
use. Everybody kept crowding into the main fort. 
We did our best but there were too many against us. 

We had to give up the fort. Then they marched 
us down here. There were nearly three thousand of 
us. Some of the wounded are in the prison-ships. 
The ships are horrible places, I hear. 

Well, Howe has the island of Manhattan now. I 
wonder how the people will feel to have the redcoats 
so near. 

Washington still has an army. He is at Fort Lee 
across the Hudson from Fort Washington. I am 
afraid that will have to be given up, too. But we can 
trust our great general. We must win in the end. 

I shall stop here. It’s late. I don’t like this old 
prison, but I’ll try to keep happy. 

Remember me to all. Love to everybody. 

Your obedient and loving son, 

Henry. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where was Laurel Hill? What did the British call it 
later? 

2. What happened to the Americans at Laurel Hill? Who 
was their commander? 

3. What happened to the Americans at Fort Washington? 

4. What did the British do with the wounded Americans? 

5. Where was Washington after the battle? 

76 



THE STORY OP MARGARET CORBIN 


When we visit Port Tryon or Abbey Hill, let us 
remember the brave Margaret Corbin who helped 
make our country free in the days of 1776. 

There were once three forts on Manhattan Island 
between One Hundred and Eighty-third and One 
Hundred and Ninety-seventh Streets. Two of them 
stood on what we now call Washington Heights. On 
one side of this high land is the Hudson River. On 
the other side is a broad valley. East of this is Port 
George. The northern fort near the Hudson was on 
what was once called Forest Hill but is now known 
as Fort Tryon or Abbey Hill. The southern fort was 
near what is now One Hundred and Eighty-third 
Street and Fort Washington Avenue. 

Perhaps the hardest fighting on Manhattan Island 
during the War of Independence took place on Wash¬ 
ington Heights. Three times the American soldiers 
beat back the enemy with terrible loss. Nearly five 
thousand German troops, who helped the British, 
finally reached the top of Forest Hill. Only six hun¬ 
dred Americans were there to meet them. Although 
they were ready and brave, they could not hold the 
hill against so many. Besides the soldiers of the 
enemy there was a British warship near Inwood, 
which poured forth hot shot upon our men. 

77 


Among the soldiers who fought on that November 
day in the year 1776 was John Corbin, a gunner, as 
brave as any man in our army. His work was very 
dangerous. As the hours passed away, shells fell in 
every direction. With John Corbin was his faithful 
wife, Margaret, who helped him load and fire his 
gun. Suddenly a loud cry was heard, and John Cor¬ 
bin sank to the ground beside his gun. In another 
minute Margaret Corbin had taken his place. 

When John Corbin joined the army of Washing¬ 
ton, he had a difficult question to answer. His wife 
went to him and said: “If you go, I shall go also.” 
At first, of course, he did not see how this could be 
done. Only men could go to fight in battle. But 
Margaret Corbin knew that a woman could help. She 
had had a great deal of trouble in her short life-time. 
At five years of age she had been awakened by the 
wild yell of Indians. Her father had rushed out to 
save his family but was killed. His wife was spared 
but led away by the savages. No one ever saw her 
again. 

Therefore, when Margaret Corbin was much 
younger than the boys and girls who read this book, 
she was left without father or mother. For years 
she had to work hard to earn her living. Then the 
war came when, at the age of twenty-four, she was 
the wife of John Corbin. So it happened that Mar¬ 
garet went to war and helped in every way she could. 

In the year 1776 John and Margaret Corbin were 
on Manhattan Island far from their home. On 
November 16 the Americans were, as we have read, 
in battle with the British on Washington Heights. 

78 


Then came the shot that killed John Corbin. The 
officer in charge ordered the gun removed, but a 
woman’s voice was heard above the roar of battle: 
“Let me take his place! Let the gun stay! I am 
ready and able to do the work!” It was the voice of 
Margaret Corbin. 

A few minutes passed. The fight raged on as the 
enemy reached the top of the hill. Then Margaret 
Corbin’s hand fell from her gun. She sank to the 
ground. She had been hit and badly wounded. As 
tenderly as possible at that terrible moment, they 
took the brave young woman from the field to a safer 
spot. 

No hero received more praise than Margaret Cor¬ 
bin. You will see her name high on the stone that is 
now on the side of the famous battle hill. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where was the most severe fighting between the Ameri¬ 
cans and British on Manhattan Island? 

2. What troops helped the British ? 

3. Did the Americans have as many men as the British ? 

4. What did John Corbin do? 

5. How did Margaret Corbin help her husband ? 

6. What happened to Margaret’s father? Her mother? 

7. What happened to John Corbin? 

8. What did Margaret do then? 

9. What happened to Margaret Corbin? 


79 



A GREAT DAY AT ERAUNCES TAVERN 


“I cannot come to each of you to take your 
leave/’ said the General, “but shall be obliged if each 
of you will come and shake me by the hand.” The 
great American, George Washington, was about to 
say good-bye to his officers who had helped him win 
independence for the United States. In the midst 












of his men whom he loved, he was standing for the 
last time. 

It was the morning of Tuesday, the fourth day of 
December, in the year 1783. Less than a month be¬ 
fore, the last British soldier had left New York. 
There had been great rejoicing in all the land. Now 
the hour of parting was near. Soldiers who had been 
together for years were about to return to their 
homes. For an hour or more the people in Pearl and 
Broad Streets had been quietly watching the scene. 
Well-known men were coming to Fraunces Tavern. 

“There goes General Greene/’ we might have 
heard somebody say. “There is ‘Mad Anthony’ 
Wavne and there is General Knox,” said another. 
Schuyler, Gates, and Hamilton were coming, too. 
Then Governor Clinton entered the ancient doorway. 
More than forty faithful soldiers were soon assembled 
in the Long Room on that December day. 

Promptly at noon there was silence. All eyes 
turned. On the staircase, just outside of the Long 
Room, a footstep was heard. It sounded familiar. 
A moment more and George Washington stood at the 
door. As the great leader came in, he looked around 
but did not speak. The events of many years of weary 
warfare were passing through his memory. Faces of 
noble comrades met his eye. Perhaps he was think¬ 
ing of the many brave soldiers who had died for 
liberty. 

“With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now 
take leave of you,” Washington began. “I most de¬ 
voutly wish that your latter days may be as prosper¬ 
ous and happy as your former ones have been 

81 


glorious and honorable.” Thus he spoke and then 
invited each man to shake his hand. 

General Knox was nearest his side. He came for¬ 
ward first. With tears in his eyes Washington 
grasped his comrade’s hand. Neither spoke a word. 
All was silence in the room. The light of noonday 
shone through the window-pane. The house had 
stood since the year 1719, but this was its great day. 
From that December hour, Fraunces Tavern would 
live as long as the city itself. 

Only a few minutes more had passed when Wash¬ 
ington stepped back toward the door and there waved 
his hand to the silent company. All of them followed 
him to the street and down to the riverside. One 
who was present went home and wrote about it. 

“As soon as he was seated,” says Colonel Tall- 



Stone's History of N. Y. 

“Washington Waved His Hat and Passed Out of Sight” 

82 












madge, “the barge put off into the river.” Washing¬ 
ton waved his hat and passed out of sight. 

At Number 51 Whitehall Street, we may read a 
tablet which marks the spot where the ferry used to 
be. It was there that Washington sailed away for 
his home in Virginia. 

Every one who can do so should visit Fraunces 
Tavern. Upstairs above the Long Room is a museum. 
Perhaps the most interesting thing to see is Wash¬ 
ington’s cane. It is in one of the big glass cases. 
School children of New York gave this cane to 
George Washington when he became first President 
of the United States. On the gold band may be 
plainly seen the initials, G. W. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What happened in December, 1783? Where were the 
British soldiers? 

2. Name five famous Generals who were present at 
Fraunces Tavern on December 4, 1783. 

3. What did George Washington say? 

4 . Where did Washington go afterwards? 

5. What use is made of Fraunces Tavern today? 


83 



THE DYCKMAN HOUSE AND PARK 


The Dyckman farmhouse still stands at the 
corner of Broadway and Two Hundred and Fourth 
Street in a small but well-cared for park. It is visited 
by thousands of people every year. This homestead 
is perhaps more ancient than any other house on 
Manhattan Island for it was built in the year 1783. 

In the little garden or park about the Dyckman 
House are several kinds of plants. Boses and peonies, 
lilacs and hollyhocks, are growing. Even a few trees 
have been set out to remind us of the days of the 
early settlers. 

The old farmhouse stands in a section of Man¬ 
hattan which has an interesting story to tell. It is 
in a broad valley. South of it are famous hills where 
American soldiers fought and died for our freedom. 
North and east of the house, the valley extends to the 
Harlem Fiver. 

Indian dwellings were once to be seen in the 
neighborhood. That was before the Dutch settlers 
came. Then large farms were planted. Cattle rested 
in the shade of the tall, old trees. 

Besides the peaceful scenes of country life the 
Dyckman farm saw the soldiers of the War of Inde¬ 
pendence lighting their camp-fires at night. In the 

84 



New Yorlc Historical Society 

“What the Huts of the Army Officers Were Like 11 


park you may see wliat the huts of the army officers 
were like. American, British, German, and Scotch 
soldiers once lived in this part of Manhattan as far 
north as Ivingsbridge. 

Along the main road which passed the Dyckman 
House famous men were often seen. This road 
is now called Broadway. Washington, Lafayette, 
Hamilton, and Clinton used it on their way from the 
city to Spuvten Duyvil. 

There are a number of interesting things to see 

85 










in tlie well-kept rooms. A visit to the kitchen, the 
dining-room, and the attic will show how the men 
and women of long ago spent their time. The thick 
stone walls helped the big fire-places keep the cold 
winds from the family as they slept in the large bed¬ 
rooms. Old chairs and tables, clocks and spinning- 
wheels, may be seen where they used to be in days 
gone bv. 

O 4/ 

In the vears when the Dvckman family lived in 

t / %/ %j 

their comfortable house there were no stores near 
in which to buy things. Candles and hard soap, 
thread and cloth, had to be made. Everybody must 
have been very busy for the farm was one of the 
largest on Manhattan Island. There was always 
something to do either in the house or in the fields. 

When you visit the Dvckman House, try to think 
of the little boys and girls of other times. Do you 
think that they enjoyed themselves as much as 
you do % 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where is the Dyckman House? 

2. When was it built ? 

3. What can we see in the Dyckman House today? 

4. Would you have liked to live in the days when the 
Dyckman House was built ? Why ? 


86 



THE BLOCKHOUSE IN CENTRAL PARK 


If you liad been living in New York in the year 
1812, you would have heard your parents talking of 
war. Our country and England had been having 
trouble for a long time. England and France were 
at war and very often forgot that we were not. From 
time to time our ships were stopped at sea and one 
or more of our sailors taken. Finally, we felt that 
we should protect our brave men and fight if it were 
necessary. 

Perhaps some evening two years ]ater you would 





have gone out for a walk. For a long time past there 
had been the sound of shoveling near McGown’s 
Pass. You would have heard it for your home was, 
more than likely, in a farmhouse not far away. Your 
parents had been reading in the newspapers that the 
city must be made safer. The English ships might 
come through the East River from the North. If 
they did, they might easily take Manhattan Island. 

“The Governor and the Mayor are right/’ you 
heard your father say. “We must build a strong 
blockhouse. Maybe we shall have to build two or 
three forts besides. ’ ’ 

Many men were busy when you went out to see 
the work near McGown’s Pass. The carpenter and 
the lawyer, the teacher and the grocer, were there. 
The farmer and the storekeeper were close by. 
Everybody was working. In the daytime one group 
was busy. In the evening another group took its 
place. Night after night, day after day, the digging 
went on. There was no time to lose. Nobody knew 
when the forts would be needed. 

Across the island a chain of forts was built. If 
we had strolled over to the high hill, we could have 
seen how strong the blockhouse was on that bed of 
rock. It measured thirty-four feet on each side. One 
of the walls was nineteen feet high. When the block¬ 
house was finished, it had a big gun on top. It could 
shoot in any direction the soldiers turned it. 

Today the old blockhouse is still standing. It 
looks out over Central Park at One Hundred and 
Ninth Street and Seventh Avenue. Many people 

trudge up the path to see its thick heavy walls. A 

88 



Fort Fish and McGown’s Pass, Central Park 


flagpole rises from the roof. On holidays the Stars 
and Stripes wave there in the breeze. 

A little to the south of the blockhouse we mav see 
the place where the other forts once stood. They were 
built at the same time. Their names were Fort Fish 
and Fort Clinton. Nicholas Fish had been a soldier 
with Washington and was one of the leading men of 
his day. He Witt Clinton was then Mayor of New 
York. Later he became a great friend of the public 
schools. His name has been given to a large high 
school for boys at Tenth Avenue and Fifty-ninth 
Street. 

On the spot where Fort Clinton stood, a flagpole 
and a small gun may now be seen. Five tall trees 
have been planted where McGown’s tavern used to 
be. Each tree stands for a borough of the city. 

McGown’s Pass has seen many a stirring event 
for it has had a very long life. Soldiers have lived 

89 



and suffered there. Men and women have stopped 
there to dine in the days when the tavern was open 
to all people. Washington himself knew it well. The 
old tavern and the forts have passed away. Only 
the road and the blockhouse live on to tell the story 
of so many years. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Why did the United States go to war with England in 
1812? 

2. Why was the blockhouse built in Central Park? 

3. Is it standing today? 

4. Where were the other forts built at the same time? 

5. Who was De Witt Clinton? 

6. What marks the spot todaj^ where Fort Clinton once 
stood? Where McGown’s Tavern once stood? 



90 



THE MONROE HOUSE AND WHY IT IS 

FAMOUS 


Among the soldiers in Washington’s army was a 
young man named James Monroe. He was only 
eighteen years old when he fought on Harlem Plains 
where Morningside Park is today. The young officer 
took part in a number of battles during the War of 
Independence and was severely wounded in one of 
them. 

After the fighting was over and America was free, 
James Monroe still served his country in many ways. 
When the United States wished to buy a very large 
piece of land from France, President Jefferson sent 
him as one of the men to do it. The greatest Ameri¬ 
cans of his time were among his friends. 

In the year 1817, after he had held many high 
positions, James Monroe became President of the 
United States. During his eight years in the White 
House our country was at peace. Everybody seemed 
happy and content. 

Though the United States was at peace, there were 
people in South America who were at war. Many of 
them were fighting for freedom from Spain. Ameri¬ 
cans thought they were right in doing this, and hoped 
they would succeed. A great man named Henry Clay 

91 



James Monroe 


helped them by his speeches, and President Monroe 
helped them by his writing. 

It was because he wrote to protect the people of 
North and South America, that James Monroe will 
always be remembered. He believed that no other 
nation should come to America to rule. All of 
America, he wrote, must be free. We should attend 
to our own affairs, and the nations of the world must 
do nothing that would bother any country on our 
side of the Atlantic Ocean. 

A short time before his death in the }^ear 1831, 
the former President moved to New York and lived 
in his daughter’s house in Prince Street. The little 
old brick house is still standing. It will be kept for¬ 
ever as a memorial to the fifth President of the 
United States. 

When we visit the house in Prince Street, let us 

think of the good man who once walked in and out 

92 


nearly one hundred years ago. He spent his life in 
working for the good of his country. Thomas Jeffer¬ 
son called him “honest and brave.’* We know, too, 
that he was a gentleman, quiet in manner and polite 
to everybody. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where did James Monroe fight during the War of Inde¬ 
pendence? How old was he? 

2. When did Monroe become President ? 

3. Why will Monroe always be remembered? 

4. Where did Monroe live in New York? Is the building 
still standing? 


93 



THE FIRST TRIP UP THE HUDSON BY 

STEAMBOAT 

“Let's go to the river to see Fulton’s Folly ” 
A young man was speaking to his friend. It was a 
Saturday morning in August in the year 1807. A 
number of people had gone down before to see a 
strange new boat, which was in the North River near 
the Battery. She was expected to sail that day. Per¬ 
haps we should have said steam for the boat was not 
going in the old way. 

The little boat’s name was Clermont. Her hull 
had been built at Corlear’s Hook near the east end of 
Grand Street. Her engines had been brought all the 
way from England. 

New York was not a big city in the year 1807. 
For a long time Robert Fulton and his steamboat 
were talked about by everybody. Some said that he 
could never reach Albany on that boat. Some be¬ 
lieved that there would surely be a serious accident. 
There were a few who shook their heads and 
wondered what would happen if the boiler burst. 
Many said little but thought much. Others were will¬ 
ing to wait and see. 

As the crowd gathered to look on, it could easily 
be seen that sails had been taken on board. No 

94 


doubt, Robert Fulton was thought very wise in doing 
this. Some peojfie felt certain that they would be 
needed. Several men were trying to put everything 
in order as quickly as possible. The little vessel 
seemed eager to start. She was like a little girl who 
is getting ready for a picnic. 

No one would say that the Clermont was a good- 
looking boat. She was only one hundred fifty feet 
long. She could have fitted in nicely across one 
of our avenues. Her two big side-wheels were nearly 
out of the water. Their blades could be seen by 
everybody, for they were uncovered. 

At one o’clock a tall gentleman gave a signal to 
the captain. In a minute or two black smoke was 
coming out of the smoke-stack. The ropes were cast 
off, and Fulton's Folly moved slowly into the broad 
river. This was a nickname for the boat whose 
builder was foolish enough to try to run her by steam. 

As the people on the shore watched eagerly, they 
suddenly saw that something was wrong. The Cler¬ 
mont stopped. She would not go. How some of the 
watchers laughed! They called out to the crew, and 
offered help. Others were more polite but seemed to 
smile a little. A few were anxious and feared that a 
terrible accident had happened. 

A whole hour passed and still the Clermont did 
not move. Then, almost as suddenly as they had 
stopped, the wheels began to turn once more. The 
water dashed upon the deck and rippling waves were 
soon going out toward the shore. Fulton's Folly had 
at last really started on her famous journey. 

It was a slow trip but much faster than the tiny 

95 







The Clermont 


Half Moon had made two hundred years before. The 
afternoon gradually wore away and the sun sank 
farther and farther out of sight. One by one the 
stars came out for they seemed eager to see the 
Clermont. They were much more friendly than the 
people on the docks had been. Not a word was heard 
from any one of them. All they did was to twinkle, 
twinkle, twinkle. In reply the big, black smoke-stack 
sent up great clouds of sparks from the hot fires 
below. 

The travelers amused themselves with songs and 
stories. Robert Fulton, the tall gentleman who had 
given the signal to go, must have been happy for the 
boat that he had planned and built was making a 
successful trip. After the Highlands had been passed 
most of the men went to sleep. As there were no 
beds, they had to lie down on boards or on blankets 
if they had brought them along. 

On Sunday morning the Clermont was far up the 
river, and the cook was busy making coffee for 

96 






breakfast. All sat down to a good meal and seemed 
to enjoy it. A short stop was soon made. The little 
steamboat had gone up the river seventy-five miles 
from the city. 

At noon the Clermont reached a landing-place one 
hundred miles from New York. It was at the home 
of a close friend of Robert Fulton. It, too, was 
called Clermont. We now know how Fulton found 
a name for his boat. The afternoon was spent at this 
beautiful country place. A party of friends went on 
board and it was not until nine o’clock the next morn¬ 
ing that the Clermont was again on her way. 

Four o’clock had come and gone. The sun was 
slowly sinking in the west before the church spires 
of Albany could be seen in the distance. At five the 
trip was ended and Fulton’s Folly was safe at her 
dock. 

The first long journey by a steamboat had been 
made. After a short stay at the old Dutch city the 
Clermont began her trip home. No longer was she 
Fulton’s Folly. Robert Fulton had proved that steam 
would move a boat through the water. 

QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What was Fulton’s Folly? What was its right name? 
In what year was it built? 

2. Did the people of New York think that Fulton’s steam¬ 
boat would reach Albany? 

3. Tell what you can about this boat. 

4. Where was Fulton’s first stop after starting the second 
time ? 

5. Did the boat finally reach Albany? How long did it 
take? 

6. Why was this trip important ? 

97 



THE POET OF CHELSEA 


Many years ago there were several little villages 
on Manhattan Island north of Canal Street. The 
city itself was still very small. On the west side, 
Greenwich Village was nearest the city, and the 
crooked roads of the village may even now be noticed 
in the crooked streets. Just north of Greenwich lay 
the tiny village of Chelsea. 

Not far from the Hudson River, as late as the 
year 1862, the boatmen could see the fine old mansion 
of the Moore family. It stood west of what is today 
the corner of Twenty-third Street and Ninth Avenue. 

In the days when Washington was leading our 
army a good old lady lived in Chelsea. Her name 
was Molly Clarke. She was the widow of the sea 
captain who had built her house and given the village 
its name. His home in England was Chelsea, and it 
was therefore only natural that he should call his 
new home by the same name. 

When the colonies fought their king, the Widow 
Clarke was not on their side. It is said that she and 
her family were more than once annoyed by the 
American soldiers. One day a horseman was seen 
galloping along toward the Clarke house. Who could 
it be? The man appeared to be a soldier of high 
rank. To the surprise of everybody it was General 
Washington himself. He had come to tell Mrs. 

98 


Clarke that liis soldiers would no longer bother Chel¬ 
sea and her people. The story may not be true, but 
we feel that the great man might have made the trip. 

Years passed away in the old house in Chelsea. 
The war came to an end, and peace was welcomed 
by all. After a time the old lady died and her big 
house became the home of her grandson. His name 
was Clement Clarke Moore. Professor Moore was a 
teacher in a school that is still on Ninth Avenue. 

This school is called a seminarv. It stands on the 

«/ 

block between Twentieth and Twenty-first Streets. 
It is only there and in the yards of some of the 
houses near-by that we may see today the ancient 
green of Chelsea Village. 

Now we should not be so much interested in Chel¬ 
sea if Clement C. Moore had not loved little children. 

One vear at Christmas time as the snow covered all 

•/ 

the fields and housetops, the teacher sat in his study 
thinking of Santa Claus and his tiny reindeer. Tt 
was then that Dr. Moore wrote the poem that will 
always be remembered by boys and girls. Young and 
old alike have enjoyed it. 

A Visit from St. Nicholas 

’Twas the night before Christmas when all through 
the house 

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; 

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, 
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; 

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, 
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads; 

99 


) 


And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap, 

Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap; 
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, 

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. 
Away to the window I flew like a flash, 

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. 

The moon, on the breast of the new-fallen snow, 
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below 
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, 
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer, 
With a little old driver, so lively and quick, 

I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. 

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, 

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by 
name: 

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer, now, Prancer and 
Vixen! 

On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen! 

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall! 

Now dash awav! dash awav! dash awav all!” 

•' t/ t/ 

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, 
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky, 
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew, 

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too. 

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof 
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof— 

As I drew in my head, and was turning around, 

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound. 
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot, 
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and 
soot; 

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, 

100 



And lie look’d like a pedler just opening his pack. 
His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! 
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! 
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, 

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow; 
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, 

And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; 
He had a broad face and a little round belly 
That shook, when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. 
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, 

And I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself. 

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head 
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread; 

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, 
And fill’d all the stockings; then turned with a jerk, 
And laying his finger aside of his nose, 

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose. 

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, 
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. 

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, 
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.” 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where was the village of Chelsea? 

2. Who was Molly Clarke? What did her husband do? 
Why did he call the village Chelsea? 

3. Was Molly Clarke on the side of the Colonies during the 

War of Independence? 

4. Who was Clement C. Moore? What did he do? 

5. What famous Christmas poem did Clement C. Moore 

write ? 

6. How much of this poem can you recite? 

101 




THE STORY OF SAMUEL MORSE 


On May 24 in tlie year 1844 the first words were 
sent over a wire between two American cities, Wash¬ 
ington and Baltimore. A young lady had chosen the 
words from the Bible. They were: “ What hath God 
wrought,’ 7 that is, what a wonderful thing God has 
shown to men. 

The words which were sent over the first telegraph 

wire seemed verv true. Samuel Morse had found a 

«/ 

wonderful new means of sending words from one 
place to another. He had used an idea which had 
come to him. He had studied and worked at it until 
he succeeded. 

Twenty years before this Morse was a painter of 
pictures. In his room in a house on lower Broadway 
he had drawn the pictures of Lafayette and other 
famous men. Then he went to Europe. After spend¬ 
ing some time away from America Morse sailed for 
home. It was while on the ocean that he learned how 
an electric spark could travel over a wire. He 
thought of it a great deal and planned to give the 
idea much of his time. 

At the corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets 
Morse’s brothers helped him fit up a room where he 
might work. There he painted pictures, ate his meals, 
slept at night, and worked over his invention. 

102 


Samuel Morse also became a teacher in New York 
University. After his teaching hours were over he 
used to work at his machine which he was making 
better every year. His classroom was in the old build¬ 
ing that stood on the east side of Washington Square 
at Waverly Place. It was there that he was first able 
to send messages back and forth over a wire. 

Although he had made the wire carry the words, 
it was hard to make other people believe that he had 
done a wonderful thing. After many years of worry* 
and trouble Samuel Morse was finally successful. He 
had made possible many things that we know today. 
Railroads use the telegraph to help run their trains 
on time. News of what is happening all over the 
world is sent to the daily papers over hundreds of 
wires. 

In his old age the great inventor lived in West 
Twenty-second Street not far from Fifth Avenue. 
The house was Number 5. It was torn down only a 
few years ago. It was there that Samuel Morse died 
in the year 1872. Only a short time before his death 
the people placed his statue in Central Park near the 
Fifth Avenue entrance at Seventy-second Street. 
Morse was present when it was unveiled. The hap¬ 
piest moment of his life had come at last. 

QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. When was the first telegraph message sent between two 
cities? What were the cities? 

2. Why is the invention of the telegraph important ? How 
do we use it today? 

3. Where is the statue of Samuel Morse? 

4. Why should all of us try to he successful? 

103 



THE STORY OF PETER COOPER 


Among the men who have done a great deal for 
the people of New York, we should remember Peter 
Cooper. He was born in the city which, in later life, 
he helped so much. 

As a poor boy, Peter Cooper was able to go to 
school for only a short time. Most of his early years 
were spent in assisting his father who made hats for 
a while and then bricks and other things. At the age 
of seventeen young Cooper began learning the trade 
of carriage building. 

Peter Cooper was soon ambitious to start a busi¬ 
ness of his own. After working in a number of places 
he built a glue factory in the Busliwick section of 
Brooklyn. This remained his business for more than 
fifty years. Although his work kept him very busy, 
he found time to think about the welfare of his work¬ 
men. On Maspeth Avenue, opposite what is now 
called Cooper Park, he erected a row of dwelling 
houses for his men. 

Besides the making of glue Peter Cooper was in¬ 
terested in the making of iron and wire goods. In 
the year 1830 he placed the first American engine on 
railroad tracks. For many years he was eager to 

have a long wire or cable under the ocean to connect 

104 



Statue of Peter Cooper 


America and Europe. In this way it would be pos¬ 
sible to send messages under the water just as Samuel 
Morse sent them by wire over the land. 

Peter Cooper, remembering the little schooling he 
himself had had, was always trying to help the boys 
and girls of New York. He served as a member of 
the Board of Education and wished to see more pub¬ 
lic schools built. His greatest service was the build¬ 
ing of Cooper Union which still stands at Eighth 
Street and Fourth Avenue. Evening as well as day 
classes were opened for working people. Young men 
and women were admitted free. 

Thousands of people have been taught in Cooper 

Union since it began its work more than sixty years 

105 























ago. Many more liave received benefit from the pub¬ 
lic lectures and meetings that have helped make 
it famous all over the country. 

It was only right that a statue of Peter Cooper 
should be erected in the little park south of the build¬ 
ing he gave to the people of the city. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Was Peter Cooper able to go to school for a long time? 

2. What did he do at first ? 

3. What kind of factory did he build? Where? Was he 
interested in other things too? 

4. How did he help educate the people of New York? 

5. Where is Cooper Union? What is it used for? 

6. Where is the statue of Peter Cooper ? 





\ 


106 



THE MAH WHO WROTE HOME, SWEET 

HOME 


A yeky famous theatre once stood on Park Row 
opposite City Hall Park. It was square in shape 
and had a great many windows. There were several 
tall lamp-posts in front of it. A few steps led to 
the high, narrow doorways through which people 
used to pass many, many years ago. At one time a 
young actor was playing in the Park Theatre. Every¬ 
body was eager to see him. His name was John 
Howard Payne. Today he is remembered not as an 
actor but as the writer of one of our best known 
songs. 

Young Pavne was a Hew York bov. He was born 
in Pearl Street but spent most of his boyhood in a 
little village on Long Island. There his father was 
a teacher, and there the boy learned the value of a 
good home. 

When John Howard Payne grew to manhood, he 
sailed for Europe and saw beautiful houses and 
lovely places in other lands. He met many people in 
famous cities of the Old World. But there was one 
little house that he never forgot. It was the cottage 
of his boyhood days at East Hampton. 

One evening the young man was in his room in 

107 


London, the largest city in the world. lie was writ¬ 
ing a play for an English theatre. He had very little 
money in his pockets and was poorly clad and lonely. 
As he sat in his room thinking, he seemed to see in 
his mind a little thatched cottage on Long Island. It 
was the home of his childhood. All the pleasures of 
early days came back to him. He was once more, it 
seemed, living in the fields and enjoying the singing 
of the birds. He gazed at the moon and felt that his 
mother was thinking of him. He fancied that he saw 
her sitting at the old cottage door. 

As these thoughts passed through his mind, John 
Howard Payne wrote the song that all the world 
remembers. It is the only thing he ever did that 
most people know. It is called, Home, Sweet Home. 
Its words are so true that it will never die. 


Home, Sweet Home 

’Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, 

Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home; 

A charm through the skies seems to hallow us there, 
Which, seek thro’ the world, is ne’er met with else¬ 
where. 


Home, home, sweet, sweet home, 
There’s no place like home, 

Oh, there’s no place like home. 

I gaze on the moon as I tread the drear wild, 
And feel that mv mother now thinks of her child, 

v 7 

108 


As she looks on that moon from our own cottage door, 
Thro’ the woodbine whose fragrance shall cheer me 
no more. 

An exile from home, splendor dazzles in vain; 

Oh, give me my lowly thatch ’d cottage again; 

The birds singing gaily, that came at my call, 

Give me them and that peace of mind dearer than all. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where was John Howard Payne born? 

2. Where did he spend his boyhood days? 

3. Who wrote Home, Sweet Home? 

4. Where was he when he wrote it? 

5. Why is this song famous? 


109 



HOW IRVING PLACE GOT ITS NAME 


On tlie corner of Irving Place and Seventeenth 
Street is a yellow brick house three stories high. If 
we had been passing this house many years ago, we 
might have noticed a gentleman sitting on the bal¬ 
cony. It was Washington Irving who once lived in 
this old house. He is one of our best known Ameri¬ 
can writers. The large high school, which now bears 
his name, was not across the street at that time. 

While Washington Irving occupied the house on 
Irving Place, he planned to write the story of George 
Washington. He had always liked that name. When 
he was a little boy he had seen the great American. 
He was a lad of six years when Washington was made 
President of the United States. His parents liked 
George Washington so much that they gave his name 
to their son. 

The people of New York loved Washington Irv¬ 
ing, and Washington Irving loved New York and its 
people. As a boy he had played on the city’s streets. 
He was born in William Street and went to school 
in Ann Street. That part of the city was then called 
Golden Hill. 

Many a day the boy wandered to the river front 

to watch the ships sail out to sea. If he could have 

110 



Washington Irving 


done so, lie would have visited other lands. But that 
he was unable to do, for his father had died and his 
mother and brothers wished him to stay at school. 

For a number of years Irving lived in New York. 
Although his health had not been very good, he was 
able to become a famous writer. As we walk down 
Broadway today, we may pass several places which 
Irving knew very well. At one time he lived at Num¬ 
ber 16 Broadway. At another time he made his home 
in a small brick house at the corner of Greenwich and 

Rector Streets. It was in one of these houses that 

111 





Irving wrote the story of the time when the Dutch 
flag waved over Fort Amsterdam near Bowling 
Green. 

As his health did not improve, the boy, who had 
watched the ships sail away, after a few years set sail 
himself. He thought that the trip would make him 
feel better. His brothers also believed that it would. 
Everywhere he went Washington Irving saw many 
things to please him. Some of these things he wrote 
about in his books. 

On one of his trips across the ocean Irving went 
to a country called Spain. It was from Spain that 
Columbus had sailed. Irving was so much interested 
in Columbus and the discovery of America that he 
wrote the story of the great sailor. 

In England the traveler was glad to spend his 
days in the quiet country villages. Within a short 
time another book came from his pen, telling of the 
things he had seen, and making known the places he 
had visited. 

After one of his long journeys in the Old World 
Irving sailed home for the last time. His friends 
were very happy to see him once more. A number 
of them gathered to greet him and ask about his 
travels. In those days the City Hotel was a famous 
stopping place for visitors to Hew York. It stood 
not far from Wall Street. It was there that Irving 
met his friends. 

Let us now think of the large house that stands 
in East River Park at Eighty-eighth Street. It over¬ 
looks the river and does not seem so old as it really 

is. Close by are tall trees whose shade is enjoyed 

112 


today as it was long ago by Washington Irving. 
Irving had friends living in the big house on the hill 
near the river, and liked to visit them. Years after¬ 
ward the city made a park of the grounds where the 
Gracie Mansion stands. Archibald Gracie, its owner, 
was a wealthy business man a century ago. 

Washington Irving had another favorite place to 
visit. From boyhood he had loved the beautiful Hud¬ 
son River. Whenever he had the time, he liked to 
climb the hills of Manhattan Island and look out 
upon the water. As a young man he had even jour¬ 
neyed farther to see the river and to tramp through 
the country north of the city. It was about thirty 
miles up the Hudson River that Irving finally bought 
a house where he lived during the remaining years 
of his life. He called his home Sunnyside. It was a 
good name for Irving liked sunny days, sunny places, 
and sunny people. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where was Washington Irving born? 

2. Where did he live? 

3. Why did Irving go to Europe? 

4. Name three things about which Irving wrote. 

5. Where did Irving live during his later life? 

6. What did he call his home? 


113 



I 


THE STORY OF A LOVER OF BIRDS 

John; James Audubon is a name that everybody 
should remember. All who love birds should know 
his story. During his long life Audubon traveled 
through the woods of America to see the birds as they 
were living in the trees or at the water’s edge. 

We read of the long trips of this lover of our 
feathered friends and wonder that he could be so 
patient. No danger seemed too great. No forest was 
too dense. With his gun on his shoulder Audubon 
tramped for miles and miles. He tells us that he had 
to meet with cold and heat, with storm and flood, but 
he did not stop until he had drawn the pictures of a 
thousand “inhabitants of the air.” 

Years of work and trouble seemed ended when 
Audubon left his drawings with a friend. Several 
months passed, and then the lover of birds returned 
to receive the wooden box in which his pictures had 
been placed. Upon opening the box he found that 
rats had eaten his drawings. Only he knew what 
that meant. All the work must be done again. 

“I slept not for several nights,” Audubon after¬ 
wards wrote. The terrible loss of all that he had 
done was almost too heavy to bear. But John James 

Audubon was a brave man who did not believe that 

114 


he should give up. “I took up my gun, my note-book, 
and my pencils,’’ he tells us, “and went forth to the 
woods as gaily as if nothing had happened. I felt 
pleased that I might now make much better drawings 
than before.” Do you think that you could have 
done this? 

Within three years Audubon once more had 
finished one of his best books. He called it The Birds 
of America . Besides the beautiful pictures of all 
kinds of birds in every part of our country the 
painter wrote many pages of stories about his life 
in the woods and the habits of birds and four-footed 
animals. 

Among the birds that he saw and loved Audubon 
liked the wood-tlirush best of all. This bird was to 
Audubon “the greatest favorite of the feathered 
tribes.” Its beautiful song cheered llim when he was 
lonely. “Often,” he writes, “have I blessed the 
Being who formed the wood-thrush.” 

There was another bird that Audubon liked to 
watch. It was the eagle: the bird that flies so high 
that it is sometimes difficult to see him. One kind of 
eagle he named the ‘ 4 bird of Wasliington. ’ ’ Why do 
you suppose he gave it that name? Audubon him¬ 
self said: “He was brave, so is the eagle. If America 
has reason to be proud of her Washington, so has she 
to be proud of her Great Eagle.” 

New York was the last home of this great lover 
of birds. His house still stands at Riverside Drive 
and One Hundred and Fifty-sixth Street. From its 
porch he could see far up and down the Hudson 
River. About his house were green fields and beau- 

115 



‘‘The Bird of Washington’ ? 


tiful hills. When he died, his body was laid to rest 
in Trinity Church Cemetery not far from where he 
spent the last years of his life. A tall stone marks 
his grave. Upon it have been placed these words: 

O all ye fowls of the air, bless ye the Lord 
O all ye beasts and cattle, bless ye the Lord 


QUESTIONS FOE SILENT READING 

1. How did Audubon spend his life ? 

2. What happened to his first drawings? Was he dis¬ 
couraged? What did he do? 

3. What bird did Audubon love best of all? Why? 

4. Why did he call the eagle the “bird of Washington”? 

5. Where was Audubon’s last home? 

6. Where is he buried? 

116 


i 




A WEAK LITTLE BOY WHO BECAME 

PRESIDENT 


On October 27,1858, a little boy was born at Num¬ 
ber 28 East 20th Street in Manhattan. His name was 
Theodore Roosevelt. The house is still standing. It 
will be kept forever in memory of the boy who later 
became President of the United States. 

With his brother and sisters young Theodore en¬ 
joyed his early days, although he was too weak to 
play as other boys did. He exercised every day to 
make himself stronger and spent many hours read¬ 
ing books. He was fond of nature stories and liked 
to collect birds and animals of different kinds. 

After he had graduated from Harvard College, he 
went to Albany to help rule the great State of New 
York. He then traveled to the Ear West where he 
lived among the cowboys, rode on swift horses, and 
looked after his cattle. Theodore Roosevelt spent 
two years in this way. Though he was very busy, 
he had time to study and write books. 

The young man returned to New York and did 
his best to make it a better city. Then, in the year 
1898, our country needed him. For many years Spain 
had not been treating Cuba as she should have done. 
The United States was not pleased. Finally there 
was war. Roosevelt entered the army and became the 

commander of a number of young men. His ‘ ‘ Rough 

117 



Theodore Roosevelt 


Eiders, ’ ’ as tliey were called, were famous and helped 
Cuba win her freedom just as the great Frenchman, 
Lafayette, helped us in the year 1776. 

When the War with Spain was over and Cuba 
was a free country, Colonel Eoosevelt was made 
Governor of New York State. In September of the 
year 1901, while he was Vice-President of the United 
States, the President, William McKinley, was shot at 
the city of Buffalo. When Eoosevelt heard that the 
President was dying, he was far away in the moun¬ 
tains. By riding fast throughout the dark night he 
was able to arrive at Buffalo on the following day. 
It was on September 14 that he became President of 
the United States. 

Many great men visited President Eoosevelt at 

118 





the White House. On his travels he spoke to thou¬ 
sands of Americans in most of the cities of the United 
States. 

After more than seven years as President, Roose^ 
velt went to Africa to hunt wild animals. Later he 
made a trip through South America and found a 
river that white men had not known before. 

When our country was once more at war, in the 
years 1917 and 1918, Theodore Roosevelt wished to 
help and did everything he could to bring victory and 
peace. Through all the long months of fighting the 
former President wrote and spoke to cheer our 
people. 

During the last year or two of his life the great 
American was not well. Before daylight on January 
6, 1919, he died in the city where he was born. All 
people were saddened by his death for they knew 
that America had lost one of her greatest men. Boys 
and girls should remember Theodore Roosevelt. He 
loved them as he loved his country. He fought for 
the right and gave his best to help all men. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where was Roosevelt born? Is the house still standing? 

2. Was he a strong boy? What did he like to do? 

3. What did he do in the West? 

4. What did Roosevelt do during the War with Spain? 

5. How did he become President of the United States? 

6. What did he do as President? 

7. What did he find in South America? 

8. When did he die ? Why should we remember him ? 

119 



A LITTLE GIRL WHO BECAME THE 
WRITER OE A FAMOUS SONG 


New York was a very small city in tlie year 1819. 
Marketfield Street was even then old and just as 
short as it has always been; in fact, it was one of the 
Dutch lanes. Its name tells us part of its story. 

In the days when the English ruled the city, the 
narrow little street was called Petticoat Lane. No- 
bod} r knows why it was called this, but perhaps it 
was a shopping place for the ladies. We shall have 
to look sharply if we wish to see it, for it is tucked 
away between Stone and Beaver Streets, just west 
of Broad Street. 

It was in Marketfield Street, in the month of May 
of the year 1819, that a little girl was born. She was 
named Julia Ward and was the daughter of Samuel 
and Julia Ward whose people had fought in the 
War of Independence. When the child was only four 
years old, her mother died. Her father had already 
bought a big house near Bowling Green, but now the 
family moved once more, this time to Bond Street. 
It was in a house that used to stand on the corner 
of Bond Street and Broadway that Julia Ward spent 
most of her earliest years. 

Father, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, 

120 


books and kind friends, were the young girl's com¬ 
panions. She loved poetry and music and beautiful 
pictures. Her father helped her in every way. She 
studied hard, and, when she was only sixteen years 
old, wrote her first poem. While it was not a great 
piece of work, it showed that some day a better one 
would come from her pen. 

Among the friends of the Ward family were many 
noted men and women. One of them was a young 
doctor named Samuel G. Howe. Dr. Howe was in¬ 
terested in a number of things besides curing the 
sick. When the people of Greece fought for their 
liberty, as we had done in the days of 1776, Dr. Howe 
left America to care for wounded soldiers in the 
hospitals. Later, he helped the people of Poland in 
their troubles. 

The greatest work that Dr. Howe did, however, 
was for men and women who were blind. He taught 
one little girl who was both deaf and blind, to read, 
write, and do other useful things. He built a school 
for the teaching of the blind. He also studied how 
to make books with raised letters so that a person, 
who was unable to see, might feel and read in this 
way. It was to his famous school in the city of 
Boston that the young doctor brought his bride, Julia 
Ward. 

Through the many years that followed their mar¬ 
riage, Dr. and Mrs. Howe were interested in one good 
work after another. The blind, the deaf, the sick, the 
suffering, in time of peace and in time of war, were 
helped by these good persons. When the terrible war 

between the states broke out in the year 1861, they 

121 


did all they could to help free the slaves and save 
the Union. It was in November of the first year of 
the Civil War that Julia Ward Howe wrote the poem 
that has made her name known all over the world. 

In the beautiful story of this good lady’s life, 
which her daughters have written, we may read how 
she came to write the famous song. She had been 
watching soldiers march in Washington, the nation’s 
capital city. A friend thought that she could write 
a few lines in their honor, and told her so. At first 
she did not believe that she could do this, but, “wak¬ 
ing in the gray of the next morning, as she lay wait¬ 
ing for the dawn, the words came to her: 4 Mine eyes 
have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.’ ” 
This became the first line of the Battle Ilymn of the 
Republic. 

We shall never know how many of our soldiers 
were cheered by the song which Julia Ward Howe 
wrote in those early hours, so long ago. In the hos¬ 
pitals and at the camp-fires, men heard and sang the 
stirring words. Within a few years they were on the 
lips of her countrymen in every part of the land. 

Julia Ward Howe lived to be a very old lady and 
died beloved and honored by all in October of the 
year 1910. Before she died, her song was known 
wherever our language is read and spoken. When¬ 
ever she appeared, her words were sung if it were 
possible to do so. The following are among the most 
beautiful lines: 

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred cir¬ 
cling camps; 


122 


They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews 
and damps; 

I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flar¬ 
ing lamps, 

His day is marching on. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where was Julia Ward Howe born? 

2. Where did she spend her girlhood? Who were her 
friends ? 

3. Who was Dr. Howe? What was he interested in? Whom 
did he help? 

4. Where did Dr. and Mrs. Howe live? 

5. What song did Julia Ward Howe write? How did she 
come to write it? 


123 



A TROLLEY RIDE UP BROADWAY 


One of the longest streets in the United States 
is Broadway. It is also one of the most famous. 
While it is not so wide as some other streets in New 
York, Broadway was in early times just what its 
name tells us. If we wished to do so, we might travel 
along Broadway from the Battery to Albany. For 
a great part of this distance it is called the Post Road. 
Perhaps if we think of the place where letters are 
stamped, we can learn why it was called a Post Road. 

Let us take a trolley-car on some clear afternoon. 
We shall start at Battery Park and very soon pass 
Bowling Green, the oldest park in the city. The iron 
railing is still standing where it was in the days of 
1776, but its lead ornaments are gone. They were 
removed when the Americans pulled down the statue 
of their king, George III, to make bullets for the 
soldiers in the war for freedom. 

As we ride by, flags of many countries may be 
noticed on the windows of some of the tall buildings. 
These show us the ticket offices of steamship com¬ 
panies. For many, many years, this has been the 
part of the city where much of the business of foreign 
trade has been carried on. If we walked along the 
Hudson River water front, we should see the piers of 

124 



(c) Major Hamilton Maxwell from Aeromarine Flying Boat 

“The Woolworth Building Is One of the Most Beautiful in New 

York ’’ 

the big ocean-going ships. New York is the greatest 
port in our country. Its harbor is one of the largest 
and best and extends from Sandy Hook to Manhattan 
Island. The water in the two bays is deep enough 
for the biggest vessels. More people and more goods 
come through this harbor than through any other in 
the country. 

After we leave Wall Street, we see on our left, 
only a few blocks away, two of the very tallest build¬ 
ings to be found anywhere. One of these is called 
the Singer Building; the other, the Woolworth Build¬ 
ing. Can you tell why? The Woolworth Building 
is also one of the most beautiful in New York. The 
view from the platform at the top is one to be remem¬ 
bered always. 


125 

















We pass Trinity Church and St. Paul’s which 
we may read about in other parts of this book. We 
are soon hurried past City Hall Park and, within a 
few minutes, if we are not delayed, we reach a turn 
in the street. A large dry-goods store is on the corner, 
and beautiful Grace Church is across the street. 
Cooper Union is just one block east on Eighth Street. 
A true friend of Hew York, Peter Cooper, built this 
school many years ago. It is free to all young men 
and women. 

Our trolley-car conductor has pulled the bell, and 
we are oft again after a brief stop to let people out 
and in. Union Square is now in sight. During the 
World War there was a big, wooden model of a battle¬ 
ship on the southern lawn of the park. Sailor lads 
were at hand to show what it is like to live aboard 
a warship of the United States Navy. Many young 
men joined the navy at this place. 

4 ‘What statue is that?” asks an elderly lady who 
has come to New York from some city far away. 

“It is the statue of Abraham Lincoln,” politely 
answers a small boy sitting on the end-seat near her. 
“On the other side of the park is the statue of George 
Washington on horseback, and a few feet away is one 
of Lafayette, the Frenchman who helped America 
win her freedom. ’ ’ 

“Thank you, my boy,” replies the lady, “I am 
glad you know so much about your city and also 
about your country’s great men.” 

At Twenty-third Street, our car turns east toward 
Madison Square. We shall ask the conductor to stop, 

for we shall change cars here. In a minute or two, 

126 


we are again riding up Broadway, but our car is not 
like the one we have just left. It is a low stepless 
car. Can you tell why it has this name? 

“What a busy street Broadway is!” says a gentle¬ 
man to his friend. “I thought we should soon be 
in the country. Where I live it takes only a few 
minutes to go from the center of the town to fields 
and trees.” 

“No, we shall not see the country for many miles 
more. We have been passing through one of the city’s 
wholesale districts, as you have noticed from the 
signs on the windows and above the doors. Now we 



















are near the great retail district. A large dry-goods 
store is on the northwest corner of Thirty-fourth 
Street, and on the street running east are others. 
Many more are on Fifth Avenue. One block west 
is another very busy place. It is the big station of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad which comes under the 
Hudson River in a long tunnel from New Jersey.” 

After crossing Sixth Avenue we pass on swiftly 
to Forty-second Street and shall soon be in the auto¬ 
mobile district. This extends for about two miles. 
Let us not forget to notice the tall Times Building 
which is owned by a well-known New York morning 
newspaper. Many of the city’s theatres and hotels 
are also in this part of Manhattan. 

At Forty-second Street we change to a big red 
trolley-car. This will take us in a few minutes to 
Columbus Circle. Central Park is now on our right. 
If we look carefully, we shall be able to catch the 
name on the monument in the center of the circle. 
On top is the statue of the man who discovered 
America. 

We find one thing after another to interest us on 
our trip up Broadway. Several avenues must yet be 
crossed before our car stops at One Hundred and 
Sixteenth Street where Columbia University stands. 
We shall then be on famous ground, for it was there, 
on what used to be called Harlem Plains, that Ameri¬ 
can soldiers fought for liberty. 

Within less than a mile we shall see the river’s 
bank and the ferry at One Hundred and Thirtieth 
Street. Our car will stop at the subway station, and 

it is there that we shall get off. If we had time, we 

128 


should like to take a ferry-boat to see where so many 
people are going. 

“ Everybody seems to be in a hurry, uptown as 
well as downtown, ” some one remarks as we stand 
looking about us. 

“It does seem so, doesn’t it? You see, this is one 
of the uptown ferries to New Jersey. These people 
have just finished their day’s work and are on their 
way home. Some day, there will he a bridge across 
the Hudson and more ferries, too. Then, perhaps, it 
will be easier to go from home to business than it is 
now. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ By the way, it is time we started back ourselves, 
don’t you think so? It is too bad we didn’t start 
earlier for now we shall take the seats of persons who 
have been working all day while we have been enjoy¬ 
ing ourselves.” 

“I’ll stand up,” says little Billy who has just had 
his fifth birthday party. “Some lady may take my 
seat.” All the other boys then say the same thing, 
and, with this thought in mind, we move quickly to 
the subway platform. 

QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where does the ride start? Name the first thing we see. 

2. What famous church do we pass? What famous street? 

3. What else do we pass before we see Union Square? 

4. Tell all you know about this park. 

5. What may be seen in and near Forty-second Street? 

6. What park is near Columbus Circle? Who was Colum¬ 
bus? 

7. Where is Columbia University? 

8. Where does our trip end? Who are the people whom 
we see? 


129 



EIGHT MILES ON A BUS 


We had been standing waiting our turn at the 
curb in Washington Square. We were eager to start 
on our trip, for it seemed a long time since we had 
arrived by trolley from our homes. 

“ There is bus Number 3,” said a lady who had 
been waiting, too. 

“That’s the bus we want,” said Miss Jones, our 
teacher. ‘ 4 It will take us up Fifth Avenue as far as 
One Hundred and Tenth Street, then it will turn 
west, and then north until it reaches Broadway at 
One Hundred and Sixty-eighth Street. We shall ride 
as far as it goes.” 

In a minute or two after we had mounted the nar¬ 
row, winding stairway to the top, the conductor gave 
the signal, and we were off for a delightful trip on 
one of New York’s greatest avenues. 

“What a beautiful arch that is!” remarked 
Robert, as he leaned over toward AYilliam who was 
sitting nearer the railing. William always liked that 
place for he could look down at the street and the 
people walking to and fro. It seemed dangerous, 
too, when the bus made a sudden turn. 

“Yes, that is a beautiful arch,” said the teacher, 
quietly. “It was erected by the people to honor 
Washington one hundred years after he became first 
President of the United States. When we have gone 

130 



Photo l>y Brown Bros . 


The Bus Will Take Us Up Fifth Avenue 


under the arch, look back quickly to see the two tall 
statues of the Father of his Country. ” 

We shall not have time to mention all of the in¬ 
teresting places on the avenue. As we were passing 
along, we noticed the wide streets that cross the city 
here and there. The first is Fourteenth Street, the 
next-is Twenty-third where Broadway crosses Fifth 
Avenue. 

“What park is that, please?” an old gentleman 
asked a friend who was sitting at his side. 

“It is Madison Square,’’ was the reply. “New 
York lias a number of small parks as well as several 

131 










large ones. There are two statues of famous Ameri¬ 
cans on the Fifth Avenue side of this park. One is 
erected to the memory of William H. Seward. The 
other is in honor of Admiral Farragut. Both of these 
great men helped Abraham Lincoln during the long 
Civil War of 1861 to 1865. Seward Park and Far¬ 
ragut Square bear their names today. On the Madi¬ 
son Avenue side of the park you may see the beauti¬ 
ful Metropolitan Tower with its big clock and lovely 
chimes. Two blocks north is the famous tower of 
Madison Square Garden where the circus is held 
every spring.’ 7 

As we passed the park, we saw the Worth Monu¬ 
ment on our left. General Worth was a soldier in 
the War with Mexico, which our country fought and 
won more than seventy years ago. 

Very soon the big bus stopped at Thirty-fourth 
Street. The signal lights in the tower had turned 
green; the policeman had raised his hand. How 
many persons were crossing the avenue! We tried to 
count them but could not. The crowd was too great. 
We were now in the shopping district. The large dry- 
goods stores on both sides attracted us as much as 
they did the ladies on the sidewalk. 

“Well, well, the New York Public Library! I’m 
very glad to see it. I’ve heard a great deal about it,” 
said a gentleman with a long white beard. He was 
sitting in the seat just behind the two boys. “What 
a beautiful building it is! It extends from Fortieth 
to Forty-second Streets. Thousands and thousands 
of books are in it, I believe.” 

At Forty-second Street we saw one of the busiest 

132 



0 Underwood & Underwood 
“We Noticed the New Bronze Tower” 


corners in the whole city. A block away, to the east, 
is the Grand Central Terminal of the New York Cen¬ 
tral Railroad. Through this station men and women 

133 





























pass to and from tlie cities and states of the whole 
country. 

We were stopped again by the signals and the 
policeman. Then the lights became red but soon 
turned yellow'. As we moved on, we noticed the new 
bronze tower and heard the clock strike the hour. 

Before we reached Central Park at Fifty-ninth 
Street, we saw a few mansions which are all that 
remain of a great number that stood in days gone 
by. Lower Fifth Avenue w r as once famous for its 
dwelling places, but most of them have given way to 
business houses in our time. 

On our trip up the avenue we had noticed the 
steeples of several fine churches. There are three or 
four more above Forty-second Street. One block 
north is Temple Emanu-El. At Fiftieth Street are 
the tall towers of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and at 
Fifty-third is St. Thomas’s Church. 

Within a few minutes our eyes caught a glimpse 
of the green of Central Park. This is the largest 
park in Manhattan and is known all over the world 
for its beautiful drives and lawns. There are several 
lakes, too. On one of them, boys and girls may sail 
their small boats. 

As we passed up the east side of Central Park 
we noticed Temple Beth-El and the Museum of Art. 
We remembered that American soldiers once marched 
across the meadows near McGown’s Pass. West of 
the small lake is the Blockhouse overlooking Seventh 
Avenue near One Hundred and Tenth Street. It was 
built to protect the city more than one hundred years 
ago. 


134 


Our bus turned to the left from Fifth Avenue and 
sped quickly to Morningside Park. 

As we rounded the corner under the elevated rail¬ 
road, the park came into view. On the hill above is 
the new but not vet finished Cathedral of St. John 

•j 

the Divine. A little more than a mile farther are 
several beautiful buildings on another hilltop. They 
are The College of The City of New York, which is 
a free college for young men. At Sixty-eighth Street 
and Park Avenue is Hunter College, which is free 
for young women. 

It was not long before we turned from St. Nicho¬ 
las Avenue and then stopped at One Hundred and 
Sixty-eighth Street. 

Our eight miles on the bus had been most interest¬ 
ing. All of us said that we should like to take the 
same trip again some time. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where does the bus start? Under what arch does it pass? 

2. Name three important streets that are crossed before we 
stop at Forty-second Street. What park do we pass? 

3. Where is the dry-goods district? 

4. Name two railroad stations? 

5. Where is the New York Public Library? 

6. Who stops us on the way up the Avenue? Tell about 

the signal tower. 

7. How has Fifth Avenue changed in recent years? 

8. Name several churches on the Avenue. 

9. Where do we turn west? What have we seen since we 
crossed Fifty-ninth Street? What stands on the hill in Morn¬ 
ingside Park? 

10. Name New York’s two free colleges. Where are they? 

135 



RIVERSIDE DRIVE BY NIGHT 


One of tlie most beautiful trips in New York is 
a ride on a bus at night along Riverside Drive from 
Seventy-second Street to Grant’s Tomb. This is a 
good way to see the great city after working hours 
are over for most people. 

We shall step aboard one of the big green auto¬ 
mobiles and go to the outside seats. The evening is 
clear. Other persons have had the same thought as 
we, for the bus has many passengers both inside and 
on top. A little later it might have been too late to 
get a seat very easily. 

Above our heads the stars are twinkling, twin¬ 
kling, 1 twinkling. How wonderful they are as they 
shine so far, far away! The lovely light of the 
friendly moon will soon be softly shining on the 

broad waters of the Hudson. The noble river mav be 

€/ 

seen in the distance between the trees. It has many 
a good story to tell, and some day we shall want to 
hear every one. Washington Irving, who was born 
in New York, wrote a number of stories about the 
river and the country along its banks. His name 
may be seen on a large steamboat which makes daily 
trips to or from Albany. 

It has seemed only a few minutes since we started. 

136 


Not far away is the dim shadow of something tall. 
It is the white marble monument erected to the 
memory of the soldiers and sailors who fought and 
died to free the slaves and keep the United States one 
great country. That was the time of the Civil War 
from the year 1861 to the year 1865. 

At One Hundredth Street, on the right, is the 
beautiful stone monument in memory of the heroic 
firemen who have served the people of the city so 
faithfully. 

One by one the lights have been coming out across 
the river and along the Drive. Now and then we 
have heard the splash of the water as the side-wheels 
of some steamboat have turned quickly around. 
Automobiles have whizzed by us with their big lamps 
glaring ahead of them. Looking carefully, we notice 
that there are people sitting on the benches and en¬ 
joying the cool breezes from the river. 

Before we know it, we shall see the monument 
which the people built, more than twenty-five years 
ago, as the last resting place of General Grant. Dur¬ 
ing the year thousands of visitors enter this tomb. 
They come from all over the world to honor the man 
who, though born a poor boy, rose to the highest place 
in the army while Abraham Lincoln was President. 
They remember, too, that the great general became 
President of the United States, and lived in the 
AVhite House for eight years. 

Not far from Grant’s Tomb is the grave of a little 
boy who died more than one hundred twenty-five 
years ago. When the city planned beautiful River¬ 
side Drive, the spot was kept and has been cared for 

137 



“The Final Resting Place of General Grant” 


ever since. In the daytime the small stone monument 
may be seen within an iron railing close to the west 
sidewalk. 

North of the Tomb, on a high lawn, is one of the 
oldest buildings in New York. It is the Claremont 
where many persons stop to dine and enjoy the fine 
views of the river. 

Our trip is now ended and the big bus stops to 
let us off. It is a place that all should visit. By day 
and by night the river, the sky, and the Drive itself 
make a picture that we shall not soon forget. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where do we start? What kind of evening is it? 

2. What monuments do we see? Why were they erected? 

3. What tomb is on Riverside Drive? Why was it erected? 

4. Tell about the view of the river at the place where our 
trip ends. 


138 




SIX INTERESTING BUILDINGS 


If we were asked to name six interesting build¬ 
ings in New York, we should find it very hard to do 
so. There are so many that we might mention. No 
two persons would make the same list, for some would 
choose one kind of building, and some, another. The 
buildings which we are going to read about are among 
the most important as well as the most interesting in 
the city. Every boy and girl should visit them. 

I THE MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 

In November of the year 1922 the people of New 
York were invited to view, for the first time, the 
collection of the newest museum in the city. It is 
one of a group of museums on Broadway between 
One Hundred and Fifty-fifth and One Hundred and 
Fifty-sixth Streets. Let us enter the Museum of the 
American Indian. It is open every day. All are wel¬ 
come; there is no charge. 

In tall glass cases on the main floor we see the way 
the red men like to dress. In one case is a white suit 
of rabbit’s fur for an Indian child. It looks very 
warm and comfortable. In other cases are shawls 
and blankets made of wool or skins of animals. In 

139 


the halls are tall wooden statues of black wood. Up¬ 
stairs are water jars, bows and arrows, sharp stone 
and metal tools, and a number of boats. Among the 
largest of these is one which Indians use in whale¬ 
hunting on the Pacific Ocean. 

Before leaving the museum we should look at the 
model of Indian huts near the doorway. It shows 
us how the red men who used to live on Manhattan 
Island spent their days. One man is cutting out his 
canoe to sail on the creek not far away. Another man 
is building a hut for his family, while two more are 
carrying a basket of fresh fish. Close by a fire-place 
is an Indian squaw who is pounding corn. The old 
rock-shelters of the red men may still be seen at In¬ 
wood near Spuyten Duyvil Creek. 

II THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 

More than fifty years ago, a number of citizens 
thought that there should be a place where stuffed 
birds and other animals might be kept on view for 
all people. They said that they would pay some of 
the cost if the city would help, too. In this way, one 
of New York’s greatest museums was founded. To¬ 
day, it has a beautiful home in Manhattan Square 
between Seventy-seventh and Eighty-first Streets. 
On the east is Central Park; on the west, Columbus 
Avenue. Only part of the museum has been erected. 
There will soon be a children’s building and one or 
two others. The museum is open and free every day 
in the year. 

Among the many, many things to see, we should 

140 



American Museum of Natural History 

‘ ‘ The Museum Is Glad to Lend Some of Its Collections to the 

Schools of the City” 


mention the wonderful groups of beautiful birds. As 
we look at them, we seem to feel that they are about 
to sing to us or to fly away. We soon learn how these 
feathered friends live in their homes all over the 
world. 

Besides the birds, there are elephants, lions, 
tigers, monkeys, and other animals from far and 
near. Specimens of trees of every kind, and pretty 
shells large and small are on view. There is a very 
good Indian collection, too. In a tall glass case in 
the hallway is one of the sleds that carried Peary 
to the North Pole. In another case is one of the sleds 
that took Amundsen to the South Pole. 

It would be a long story if we were to tell all of 

what we may see in the American Museum of Natural 

141 











History, but we must not forget to name one or two 
things more. Not only is the museum open and free 
to all but it is glad to lend some of its collections to 
the schools of the city. Thousands of lantern slides 
may also be borrowed. During the year, talks on 
many subjects are given in the large hall. 

Ill THE MUSEUM OF ART 

Any one who has traveled on a bus up Fifth 
Avenue above Fifty-ninth Street must have noticed 
the beautiful buildings of the Museum of Art in 
Central Park. The main entrance is opposite Eighty- 
second Street. This museum is more than fifty years 
old and is one of the greatest in the world. It is not 
easy to tell its story in a few words. Everybody 
should visit it and spend an hour or two in its wonder¬ 
ful halls. 

Statues and pictures, fine laces, and musical in¬ 
struments of all lands are on view. There are also 













models of famous buildings of long ago and now. 
Some of the things in the glass cases could not be 
bought at any price. No copies of many of them may 
be found anywhere in the world. There is also a large 
collection of lantern slides which may be borrowed 
by the schools. Every week during the greater part 
of the year a story-hour is held for children and is 
free to all. 

The Museum of Art is open without charge except 
on Monday and Friday. 

IV THE BROOKLYN INSTITUTE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES 

On Eastern Parkway, near Prospect Park, in the 
Borough of Brooklyn, is a museum which is very 
much like Manhattan’s two big museums. It is called 
the Institute of Arts and Sciences. It is open free 
to all on week days, except Monday and Tuesday. 
Besides its valuable collections of art and nature, the 
Institute is famous for its public lectures. 

Some distance from the main building is the Chil¬ 
dren’s Museum in Bedford Park. There are many 
interesting things for young folks to see. Of very 
great value is the collection of models of old houses, 
furniture, and clothing, which show us how people 
lived in the days of the colonies, long, long ago. 

V THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 

In one of the busiest parts of the city, the New 
York Public Library looks out upon the great crowds 
of people walking up and down Fifth Avenue be- 

143 


tween Fortieth and Forty-second Streets. The beau¬ 
tiful marble building was ojiened for all in November 
of the year 1911. President Taft and other well- 
known men were present. 

For many years before the library was built, four 
stone walls stood on the same spot. Within these 
walls the water supply of New York was once kept. 
When the city became very large, water works were 
built many miles away and, later, still greater works 
in the Catskill Mountains. 

In the New York Public Library and its branches 
are more than two million books. About one million 



New York Historical Society 
Four Stone Walls Once Stood Where the Public Library Is Today 

144 







The New York Historical Society 


of these are in the branch libraries and may be bor¬ 
rowed by the people of the city. The main building 
on Fifth Avenue has several rooms which everybody 
should visit. One is the Children’s Room which is 
fitted with tables and chairs as well tis books for the 
free use of boys and girls. Another room is a picture 
gallery. There are music and newspaper rooms, a 
library school, and a reading room on the top floor. 
The library has also a large collection of pictures of 
New York. Some of these have been printed in this 
book. 


VI THE NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

On Central Park West, just south of the Ameri¬ 
can Museum of Natural History, is the building of 
the New York Historical Society. The library of 
this old society has many books which tell the story 

of the city from the earliest times. 

145 













The New York Room is one of the most interest¬ 
ing rooms to visit. Pictures on the walls and in 
glass cases show how the people have lived in all the 
years that have passed. An old coach stands in the 
center of the room. It was used by a New York 
family long before the days of the automobile. Most 
important of the things to be seen in the New York 
Room is the railing that once stood on the balcony 
of old Federal Hall in Wall Street. It was there 
when Washington became first President of the 
United States in the year 1789. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where is the Museum of the American Indian? When 
was it opened? What may we see in it? 

2. What is the second building’s name ? Where is it ? What 
may we see in it? 

3. Name the third museum. Where is it? What may we 
see in it? 

4. What museum is in Brooklyn? Where is it? What 
branch has it? What are in these museums? 

5. Where is the New York Public Library? Name four 
important rooms. 

6. Where may we find books to tell us the story of the City? 
Tell about the New York Room. 


146 



AROUND MANHATTAN ISLAND BY BOAT 


It is a beautiful summer morning. A gentle 
breeze is blowing as it used to do when the Indians 
lived on their island of hills which we call Manhattan. 
Let us go on board a small but strong-looking boat 
at the Battery. When we reach the upper deck, we 
shall sit down and wait for the captain to give the 
signal. Before we start, we notice the Aquarium and 
the park in which it stands. Not far away is the 
station of four elevated railroad lines. Below is a 



(c) Major Hamilton Maxwell, from Aeromarine Flying Boat 
“As We Round the Lower End of Manhattan Island” 


147 










station of tlie subway that would take us to Brooklyn 
or upper Manhattan or The Bronx. 

‘‘All aboard for the trip around Manhattan 
Island! Take up the gang-plank! Pull in the ropes!” 
In a minute or two the little steamer leaves her dock. 

As we round the lower end of Manhattan Island, 
our boat must be very careful, for a number of ferry¬ 
boats are passing in and out of their slips, on their 
way to Brooklyn or Staten Island. We are soon in 
the East River and in sight of the great Brooklyn 
Bridge. Before we go under it, we shall see steam¬ 
ships at their piers. From these piers, on both sides 
of the river, large boats leave for many places. Some 
sail up the river and into Long Island Sound on their 
way to cities in New England. Others pass out to 
sea carrying passengers and all kinds of goods to 
ports in our own country and in foreign lands. 

After we have gone under Brooklyn Bridge, a 
man with a big horn calls out: 

“On your right are several warships in the Navy 
Yard. On your left are the low houses of the East 
Side in Manhattan. Thousands of people live in that 
part of the city and most of them have come from 
far-off countries to make their homes in America. 
Every language in the world may be heard on the 
East Side, but all the children study English, and 
many of their parents do, also, in evening schools. 
Some of our best known Americans, such as Jacob 
A. Riis and Governor Alfred E. Smith, have lived in 
those small, low houses.” 

In a moment or two, the same voice calls out 
again: 


148 


“Very soon, we shall pass under two more bridges 
which connect Manhattan and Brooklyn. The first 
is called Manhattan Bridge and the second, Williams¬ 
burg Bridge. We shall soon see Welfare Island 
which used to be known as Blackwell’s Island after 
the family that once lived there. The city owns the 
island now and has built two hospitals on it. The 
long Queensboro Bridge passes over Welfare Island 
from Manhattan to the Borough of Queens.” 

When we have reached the upper end of the nar¬ 
row island, we are very near the meeting point of 
the East and Harlem Rivers. Its name is Hell Gate 
because it has been a dangerous place for boats. The 
two streams come together here making the water 
very rough and the current strong. It was much 
worse before some of the rocks were blasted away. 
Not far to the north, between The Bronx and Queens, 
a great railroad bridge has been built over Hell Gate. 
Trains pass easily from New York to New England 
by way of this huge steel span. 

A few minutes more and our guide again rises 
to tell us that there are several islands on our right. 
One is called Ward’s and another, Randall’s. They 
are owned by the city. A large hospital is on Ward’s 
Island. The House of Refuge for boys is on Ran¬ 
dall ’s. 

“Near One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Street are 
the Polo Grounds,” remarks the gentleman with the 
big horn. “Nobody needs to be told what takes place 
there. Ask any boy, if you really don’t know.” 

North of the famous baseball field a driveway 

extends along the west bank of the Harlem River. It 

149 


1 



(c) Major Hamilton Maxwell, from Aeromarine Flying Boat 
Along the Harlem River 


passes under High Bridge and Washington Bridge. 
High Bridge was erected more than eighty years ago. 
Across the bridge water was carried in pipes to the 
city. Washington Bridge is one of the most beauti¬ 
ful in the country. These two bridges connect The 
Bronx and Manhattan. 

Just beyond, on the left, we may see Fort George, 
and, on the right, Hew York University. Around the 
library building are the stone columns of the Hall 
of Fame. Bronze tablets have been erected here in 
honor of some of the famous men and women who 
have helped make our country great and the world 
a better place to live in. 

In a moment or two the Harlem Ship Canal will 

take us past the northern end of Manhattan Island 

150 









into the Hudson. How tall and thick the woods are 
in this part of the island! How different from the 
Battery where our trip began! Across the Hudson 
are the steep bluffs of the Palisades rising above the 
New Jersey shore. 

As we turn slowly downstream, we shall look for 
Fort Washington Point. There is a lighthouse near 
the water’s edge. Just above the Point stood Fort 
Washington in the days of 1776. Let us recall the 
brave deeds of the soldiers who fought on Washing¬ 
ton Heights and at Fort George. 

“We are now about two miles north of Grant’s 
Tomb,” says the guide. “It stands on Riverside 
Drive and was erected in honor of the great general 
who did so much to save our country during the 
Civil War of 1861 to 1865. Riverside Drive is one 
of the most beautiful highways in the United States. 



“One of the World’s Largest Steamships Leaving for a Voyage 

Across the Atlantic” 

151 



It extends along the Hudson River from Seventy- 
second Street to Inwood. Large buses run as far as 
One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Street, and automo¬ 
biles may be seen on it day and night. A great many 
people walk on its lovely paths every day. ’ ’ 

It is not long before the big docks on both sides 
of the river come in sight. One of the world \s largest 
steamships is leaving her pier for a voyage across the 
Atlantic. Small but strong tug-boats are helping her. 
Noisy whistles are telling every other ship that she 
is coming out into the river. Nearly ten thousand 
vessels enter and leave the harbor every year. 

Ferry-boats are quickly crossing the Hudson at 
several points. If it were five or six o’clock, they 
would be taking crowds of people to their trolley- 
cars or railroad trains in New Jersey. Thousands of 
workers in New York travel a number of miles from 
their homes in near-by towns every morning, and 
back again in the evening. 

As we approach lower Manhattan, we see once 
more the tall buildings on Broadway and other 
streets. One of them, the Woolworth Building, is 
the tallest in the world. 

Within a few minutes, we are back at our starting 
point and, when the boat has been made fast, step 
ashore. We have sailed around a wonderful island 
and feel that the three hours have been well spent. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where do we start? Into which river do we sail? What 
do we see on Manhattan ? What in Brooklyn ? 

152 



2. Name the first bridge under which we pass. What 
boroughs does it connect? 

3. Tell about the East Side. Name two men who have lived 
there. 

4. Name three other bridges across the East River. What 
boroughs do they connect? 

5. Name the long, narrow island in the East River. Tell 
about it. 

6. Why is Hell Gate so called? What rivers meet there? 
Name two islands near-by. What bridge is there? 

7. What may be seen as we pass up the Harlem River? 
Name two bridges that cross the river. What boroughs do they 
connect ? 

8. Name the canal that is between the Harlem and Hud¬ 
son Rivers. What creek is near it? What may be seen across 
the Hudson ? 

9. Name two or three interesting places that we see before 
coming to Grant’s Tomb. 

10. What ship may we see leaving a dock? What other 
boats do we see on the river ? Of what use are they ? 


153 



BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN 






THE BATTLEFIELD OF BROOKLYN 


The Borough of Brooklyn may well be proud of 
Prospect Park. It has beautiful trees and flowers. 
Its lawns and shaded paths are well-kept. But the 
Park has much to interest us besides lovely scenery 
for it was a famous battlefield in our struggle for 
independence. 

Brooklyn and Flatbush come together near the 
southern side of Prospect Park. Let us think that 
we were alive in August in the year 1776. As boys 
and girls we would be playing or assisting our 
parents on the farm. The day is clear and warm 
for it is midsummer. We hear the cow-bell jingle 
its familiar tune. We feel a gentle breeze coming 
from across Gowanus Creek. 

Suddenly, there is another sound. It is like the 
tramp of many feet along the road. We have noticed 
that Father has looked very worried for several days. 
He has been speaking in a low voice at breakfast 
time. Mother and he have been troubled about some¬ 
thing. 

"It may be a long struggle/’ remarks Father on 
the morning of August 27. " But I shall put my trust 
in Washington and his brave officers and men. Sul¬ 
livan, old Israel Putnam, and Lord Stirling are all 
able men.” 

After a moment or two Father adds: "What a 

157 



Battle Pass Tablet 


man this Stirling is! How much it means to America 
to have him on our side! Although he is a British 
nobleman, Lord Stirling is in the American army 
fighting for the colonies. He believes, as all of us do, 
that they should be free.” 

The noon-hour has come. The old clock on the 
stairs has already struck twelve. Ruth, Harry, and 
little Jane have run in from their play. They are 
nearly out of breath. They seem very much alarmed. 

158 









We soon learn their story. They have seen the 
British redcoats marching up the road. 

“Uncle Harry has just come back,” whispers 
young Harry rather loudly. 4 4 He says that General 
Howe landed his army on the shore last Thursday. 
He thinks it was a little below The Harrows at 
Gravesend Bay.” 

Two hours pass. Then we can plainly hear the 
low rumble of heavy cannon. The dreaded battle is 
being fought. Who knows how it will end, or where ? 
Hew York as well as Brooklyn may be taken before 
many days have gone by. Several roads lead through 
the woods and over the hills from Hew York Bay. 
Father says that all except one are guarded. It 
would be better if the Jamaica Pass were well-pro¬ 
tected. 

44 I shouldn’t wonder if they came in greatest 
numbers along the Jamaica Pass,” says Father. 

4 4 Lord Stirling and General Sullivan will be able 
to take care of the enemy, I am sure, ’ ’ replies Mother 
very quietly. 

Father is silent, but it is not certain that he agrees 
with Mother. He has also thought highly of these 
two officers but he has heard that they will have to 
fight a much larger army. 

Many a poor fellow must lose his life at Battle 
Pass this August day! Many another must fall 
wounded! How brave they are we shall know later. 
How patiently they suffer we shall also learn. Only 
eight thousand American lads are there to hold back 
almost twice as many of the British. Hundreds will 

be killed on both sides. Many of our officers will be 

159 



“In Honor of Maryland's Four Hundred Who Saved the American 

Army’ ’ 

missing. In a few days most of them may be in prison 
on Manhattan Island. Among the captured officers 
will be General Sullivan himself. 

Next day it is quiet near our farm. We shall soon 
hear more news of the terrible battle. 

4 4 Near Lookout Hill Lord Stirling was in com¬ 
mand of the American troops, ” says Uncle Harry. 

160 






Against him was Lord Cornwallis. The American 
commander soon saw that he must retreat or sur¬ 
render. He knew that his men were willing to fight 
to the last but he decided to let all who could, escape. 
He therefore told five companies of Maryland troops 
to remain. Then he ordered all the other soldiers to 
hurry away.” 

Uncle Harry stops here but begins again in a 
low voice. “Charge after charge was made by the 
brave Maryland troops but it was no use. The enemy 
soon caught our men in a trap. More than our num¬ 
ber came up to help the redcoats. Hundreds were 
captured. ’ * 

Uncle Harry stops and looks out of the window 
for a minute or more. “The noble Stirling was also 
taken,” he adds. “How sad Washington must have 
felt as he watched the fight and knew how many 
brave fellows he must lose.” 

“And where is Washington now?” Mother asks. 

“On the third night after the battle the General 
moved his tired and defeated soldiers away. They 
crossed the East River in the darkness and the fog.” 

When you visit Prospect Park, read the story of 
this battle of long ago. You will find it on the tablets 
in the old Valley Grove through which the ancient 
road still passes. Patriotic persons have placed these 
tablets to mark the famous Battle Pass. Other mark¬ 
ers may also be seen. 

A short distance farther along the road to the 
right we may read of two guns. These guns guarded 

American soldiers on the hill beyond. 

161 


In the year 1776 the beautiful lake iu Prospect 
Park was nothing but a swamp. South of the road 
was a thick wood and near it was a meadow. The 
wood is now gone but the meadow is still there. It 
was across this meadow that the soldiers of Wash¬ 
ington escaped after the battle of August 27. A 
bronze plate on a big stone close by marks the place 
today. 

Not far from Battle Pass a high hill overlooking 
the road may still be seen. It is Lookout Hill. On 
it a simple monument has been set, bearing these 
words: 

IN HONOR OF 

Maryland’s four hundred 

WHO ON THIS BATTLEFIELD 
AUGUST 27, 1776 

SAVED THE AMERICAN ARMY 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What battle was fought in what is now known as Pros¬ 
pect Park? 

2. Who was in command of the British army? 

3. Where did the English troops land? 

4. How many Americans were in the Battle of Long Island ? 
How many British? 

5. Who was in command on Lookout Hill? 

6. What did he decide to do? 

7. Why did the Maryland troops remain? 

8. What happened to Lord Stirling? 

9. What did George Washington do after the battle? 

10. How is the battlefield marked today? 


162 



THE NAVY YARD IN BROOKLYN 


After the United States became free it seemed 
necessary to have a good army and a good navy. Our 
country was young and not very strong. A famous 
school was built at West Point on the Hudson River 
for young men who wished to be officers in the Ameri¬ 
can army. In Brooklyn the government planned to 
build a large navy yard where our warships might be 



TJ. S. Navy Official Photo. 

“Among the Most Interesting Things in the Navy Yard Are the 

Large Dry-docks’ ’ 

163 















repaired and new ones built. This was more than a 
hundred years ago. 

The land where the Navy Yard was placed was 
once the sandy shore of Wallabout Bay. In the 
waters near it were the British prison-ships of the 
War of Independence. This part of the borough was 
first settled by Walloons, who were some of the earli¬ 
est inhabitants of America. 

Anybody may visit the Navy Yard. A young 
sailor will meet you at the Sands Street entrance and 
show you all the places of interest. It is a good 
hour’s trip if you wish to see most of the important 
things. 

Near the gate stands a simple stone monument. 
On it are the names of our brave men who died in 
China more than fifty years ago. Not far away are 
two or three big guns which were captured during 
the War with Spain in the year 1898. If you look at 
them carefully, you will see the holes made by the 
shots of American gunners. Across the street are 
other guns which were in use during the Civil War 
of 1861-1865. 

Among the most interesting things in the Navy 
Yard are the large dry-docks. One of them is very 
old and made of wood, but the others are much 
newer and made of stone. Into these great beds ships 
are floated. Then, after the water has been let out, 
they are cleaned and repaired. 

During the World War we heard a great deal 
about boats that go under the sea. They are called sub¬ 
marines. In the Navy Yard may be seen one of the 

first ever built. It was called The Intelligent Whale. 

164 


Not much success came to its builders. The boat 
is made of iron and looks heavy. Inside there is a 
hand machine by which it was made to move. The 
big, clumsy, iron boat had one serious fault. When 
it went beneath the waves of the sea, it stopped and 
did not come up. It would be out of sight now if 
it had not been raised by another boat and placed on 
dry land. 

Ships and parts of ships seem to be everywhere. 
Workmen may be seen at work in the machine-shops. 
Sailors and officers are also busy or resting after 
stormy trips at sea. You may go on board one of the 
warships if you ask your guide to take you. It may 
be a battleship or a submarine destroyer. There you 
will learn how much time and money it costs to make 
and keep Uncle Saurs navy. You will begin to know 
why our country not long ago asked other nations to 
agree to stop building warships for at least ten years. 

As you walk back to the gate, you will have an¬ 
other thought. It will be this: How courteous our 
young sailor lads are! 

QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where is the school for training men to be officers in the 
United States Army? 

2. What is the Navy Yard used for? 

3. Where is it? 

4. May any one visit the Navy Yard ? 

5. Name at least three interesting things to be found in 
the yard? 

6. What is a dry-dock? 

7. Tell the story of the Intelligent Whale. 

8. Why does the United States want all nations to stop 
making their navies larger? 


165 



FORT GREENE PARK 


In the year 1861 there was trouble in our country. 
War had begun and the northern states of our nation 
were fighting the southern states. One day a large 
^rowd gathered in Brooklyn. The meeting-place was 
Fort Greene Park. The people were trying to find 
out what they should do to help their country. 
Speeches were made and many men and women 
listened. Brooklyn sent her men to fight to keep the 
United States one nation. They fought for another 
reason also: to free the negro slaves. 

Five years had passed when a great meeting was 
again held at Fort Greene Park. It was a fine Oc¬ 
tober morning and all the people of Brooklyn were 
happy. The war had ended the year before and most 
of the men who had marched away had come back. 
The whole country was glad that peace had returned. 

From Fulton Ferry the procession moved along 
through the streets of Brooklyn. On the avenues the 
crowds stood to see the parade. The Governor of 
New York State was there. The Mayor of the city 
was with him. On the same platform, too, was a 
famous sailor, Admiral Farragut. 

The citizens of Brooklyn had been thinking of 
honoring the soldiers and sailors who had served 

166 


their country in the war. On that October morning 
they were ready to do so. As the men came up to 
receive their medals, they were loudly cheered. It 
was a day which everybody remembered. 

Fort Greene Park was a good place to hold these 
meetings. For nearly one hundred years it had been 
sacred soil. Back in the days of the War of Inde¬ 
pendence Washington told General Greene to build 
a number of strong forts. The work was begun at 
once. On the hills of Brooklyn one after another 
arose. On the high ground near the river’s edge 
stood Fort Putnam. General Greene named it after 
the brave commander whom American soldiers loved. 

When the War of Independence was over, Fort 
Putnam was not used for a long time. A wealthy 
family bought the land and kept it for many years. 
In the year 1845 the citizens of Brooklyn thought 
that the hill should be made a public park. This was 
done but the name was changed. At first the name of 
Washington was chosen, but later another took its 
place. It was felt that it was only right that the park 
should bear the name of the builder of the fort. To 
this day we know it as Fort Greene Park. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Why did the people of Brooklyn meet in Fort Greene 
Park in 1861 ? 

2. Why did they meet in 1866? 

3. When was the fort built where Fort Greene Park is now ? 
What was it called? Why? 

4. When the park was planned, what name was chosen 
for it? 

• 5. What was this name changed to ? Why ? 

167 




WHERE THE PRISON MARTYRS ARE 

RESTING 

Many years after Fort Putnam had become Fort 
Greene a beautiful memorial was planned. Fort 
Greene Park was selected as the best place that could 
be found. A flight of steps was built leading to the 
top of the hill. There the tall stone monument was 
erected. On one of its sides we may read these words: 

THE PRISON MARTYRS’ MONUMENT 
1776 1783 

As we go up the broad steps we notice a door over 


The Prtson Martyrs’ Monument 

168 





which the sad story is told very briefly. In the tomb 
behind the door lie the bodies of the 

AMERICAN SEAMEN, SOLDIERS, AND CITIZENS WHO 
PERISHED IN THE PRISON-SHIPS 

When Americans were captured by the British 
in battle or on board ship during the War of Inde¬ 
pendence they were taken to prison. There were two 
of these prisons on the field which is now called City 
Hall Park. When the prisoners became ill they were 
often placed on the hospital ships lying in the harbor. 
For a long time prison-ships were anchored in the 
East River. 

We receive so much care when we are not well 
that we cannot know how the men suffered in those 
far-off days. Many died and were buried on the 
sandy shore of Wallabout Bay. Years afterward 
their bodies were removed to the tomb under the 
monument in Fort Greene Park. There they will be 
at rest forever. It is only right that we remember 
those brave Americans who gave their lives that we 
might live in a free country. We should visit the 
spot where they lie on the hillside overlooking the 
East River and the Navy Yard. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What monument was placed in Fort Greene Park? 

2. When Americans in British prisons were wounded or 
became sick, where were they taken? 

3. Where were the prison-ships anchored? 

4. When the sick American prisoners died, where were they 

buried ? 

5. Where are they resting now ? 

169 



PROSPECT PARK AND THE MEMORIAL 

ARCH 


It was a great day for the people of Brooklyn 
when, in the year 1871, Prospect Park was opened 
for their enjoyment. Beautiful trees and lawns, hills 
and valleys, a large lake and winding paths, have 
made the park famous for its natural beauty alone, 
but it is still more glorious for the story it has to tell. 

Within the limits of Prospect Park an important 
battle was fought during the War of Independence. 
Washington’s army was on the hills of the park. 
Along the dusty roads that are now well-kept paths 
the American and British soldiers marched. At Bat¬ 
tle Pass and near Lookout Hill brave men suffered 
and died. We may easily see the battlefield today, 
for patriotic persons have marked the spots where 
the battle took place. You may read more about it 
in other parts of this book. 

On an October day about thirty years ago, the 
citizens of Brooklyn held a big meeting on the Plaza 
of Prospect Park. Over the broad road at the en¬ 
trance a beautiful stone arch had been erected. It 
is one of the largest in the world. After two years 
the workmen had finished their task and the arch 
was ready. 


170 



To the Defenders of the Union 1861-65 


“Boom! Boom! Boom!” forty-four times were 
heard. Each boom was in honor of one of the states 
that made up the United States at that time. Six 
hundred high school boys sang America. How well 
their voices sounded! The Mayor and other speakers 
told the story of how and why the Arch had been 
built. In telling the story of the Soldiers and Sailors 
Memorial Arch, they told of the heroes who had 
fought to help Abraham Lincoln keep all the states 
together as one nation and free the slaves. 

The beautiful arch was erected for all to see and 
enjoy. Boys and girls, men and women, should al¬ 
ways remember the cause for which it stands. Our 
country had been freed by Washington and his brave 
men. It had been saved by Abraham Lincoln and 

General Ulysses S. Grant and their brave men. You 

171 










will read a great deal about these American leaders 
as you go through school. 

We should all read the words that have been writ¬ 
ten over the Memorial Arch: 

TO THE DEFENDERS OF THE UNION 1861-65 

Then we should recall the heroic struggle when love 
of country kept us one great, strong nation, and love 
of justice made all men and women free. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Why is Prospect Park famous? 

2. What battle was fought there? 

3. Why did the people erect a beautiful stone arch at the 
entrance to the park ? 

4. How long did it take to build this arch? Is it very 
large ? 

5. What words are over the arch? 

6. Why did these men fight their own countrymen? 


172 



BOROUGH OF THE BRONX 







THE STORY OP THROG’S NECK AND 

PORT SCHUYLER 


Our story today will take us to the far end of a 
long neck of land in the Borough of The Bronx. It 
is called Throg’s Neck. North of it is Long Island 
Sound, and south of it is the East River. Until re¬ 
cently it was not very easily reached, and even now 
there is a long walk from the cars. 

Throg’s Neck has a story to tell that would take 
many pages, but we can give only two or three in this 
book. Indians once built their fires there, and from 
its beach their canoes pushed off to the Long Island 
shore. Dutch, English, and Americans have lived on 
the narrow neck, and soldiers have landed on it from 
ships of war and marched inland to battle. 

In the year 1776 James Perris and his family 
were living on Old Ferry Point which is just south 
of Throg’s Neck. One day in the middle of October 
they were startled as they sat at their table, for a 
strange sound was heard. We can almost see every 
one rushing to the windows that overlooked the 
water. 

“The fleet has arrived,” was the thought of all. 
It was only too true. The British fleet had indeed 

come up the East River. As far as the eye could see, 

175 


the enemy’s ships stretched down the river south of 
the Neck. Ninety fiat-boats had brought the red¬ 
coats from their victory on Long Island. Several 
weeks had passed since the battle, and it was ex¬ 
pected that General Howe would soon be moving his 
army. Washington knew that he would, but was not 
sure where his enemy expected to land. Alarm posts 
had been placed along the shore for many miles. It 
was hoped that they would be able to tell what was 
about to happen. 

It was a serious moment for the Ferris familv on 

«/ 

Old Ferry Point. Across the water to the north they 
could see Throg’s Neck. No one, of course, could 



(c) Frank Cousins 

The British General Howe Took the Ferris House As His 

Headquarters 

176 












say what might take place. All were sure of one 
thing: the landing of British soldiers had begun. 
Within a few hours General Howe had taken the 
Ferris house as his headquarters. 

The British army was soon marching along the 
road leading inland to Westchester Creek. It was 
near the crossing of Fort Schuyler Road and West¬ 
chester Avenue. The Americans had already reached 
the spot. Before the enemy arrived they had de¬ 
stroyed the bridge over the creek. They had thus 
forced the British to halt and then change their line 
of march. General Howe was anxious to place his 
army across the Bronx River valley. He thought 
that by doing this lie would keep most of the Ameri¬ 
cans from getting away. In fact, he really expected 
to capture Washington’s army and end the war. 

Before daybreak on Friday morning a great body 
of British soldiers landed on Pell’s Point opposite 
City Island. This is now part of Pelham Bay Park. 
If they could advance far enough, they felt sure that 
they could defeat Washington. It is possible that 
they again thought they might even capture our 
army. American soldiers had been placed for many 
miles along the banks of the Bronx River. One part 
of the British army was still on Manhattan Island. 
If this second part could cross the Bronx valley, the 
Americans would then be in the middle between the 
two divisions of their enemies. 

It so happened that there was a brave and able 
American officer in command not far from where the 
redcoats left their ships. His name was Colonel 

John Glover. Most of his soldiers had been fisher- 

177 


men before they entered the army. They were expert 
sailors as well as soldiers. They had rowed the 
American army safely across the East River after 
the Battle of Long Island. In December of the same 
year they would row Washington across the Dela¬ 
ware River and help him win the Battle of Trenton. 

Where Glover’s Rock now tells the story, the 
Americans met the British. Although they had to 
give way in the end, our soldiers held the redcoats 
for some time. There were only five hundred against 
several thousand of the enemy. The Americans were 
forced slowly back along Split Rock Road until 
they reached the Boston Post Road. Later they 
crossed the Bronx River and remained on the other 
side. The British decided to go no farther. Instead, 



New York Historical Society 

Split Bock Boad 
178 

















they marched to New Rochelle several miles to the 
north. 

Washington had been watching his chance for a 
long time. Now, it seemed at hand. The fighting 
at Pell’s Point had helped him very much. Within 
a few days he moved his army in safety and made 
his headquarters at White Plains just north of the 
British lines. Colonel Glover and his brave men had 
really saved the American army. 

Nearly a hundred years ago the United States 
built a very strong fort at the end of Tlirog’s Neck. 
In honor of Philip Schuyler it was called Port 
Schuvler. General Schuvler was one of the best sol- 

«/ t/ 

diers in the War of Independence. Although the 
government owns a large piece of land on which the 
fort stands, no use is made of it today for other forts 
have taken its place. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where is Throg’s Neck? 

2. Why had the British fleet come up the East River? 

3. What did the British army do? 

4. How was the Ferris house used by the British General? 

5. What did General Howe expect to do? 

6. What did the Americans do to stop the British? 

7. What did the British do then? 

8. Who was John Glover? 

9. What did he succeed in doing? 

10. What did the British do? 

11. Who was Philip Schuyler? 

12. Is Fort Schuyler used today? Why? 

179 



VAN CORTLANDT PARK AND MANSION 


About thirty-five years had passed since Fred¬ 
erick Van Cortlandt built his large stone mansion in 
what is now the Borough of The Bronx. On a happy 
July day in the year 1783 the house was being swept 
and cleaned for a famous guest. George Washington 
was expected to sleep in the Van Cortlandt Mansion 
that night. The long War of Independence had been 
fought and won. The great commander was return- 



Valentine’s Manual. 

Van Cortlandt Mansion in Early Days 


180 







ing to New York. Seven years before he had left 
it, and, with his defeated army, fled across the Hud¬ 
son through New Jersey. How big a change had 
taken place! Our country was at peace, and the sol¬ 
diers were back in their homes once more. 

If stone faces have any feeling at all, the old faces 
above the windows must have felt glad. They had 
seen many an interesting day in their lifetime. So 
had the brass knocker on the front door. As we 
approach the mansion and recall what has happened 
under its shadow, we are pleased that it has been 
kept standing for us to enjoy. 

Let us enter the mansion. We pass downstairs 
to the big room with a large open fire-place. Here 
is the kitchen. Dishes and plates are on the table. 
Old style chairs and an ancient spinning-wheel are 
close by. An old gun called a flint-lock hangs from 
the ceiling. It has not been used in many a year 
for Indians and wild animals are both gone. 

On the main floor are the dining-room and the 
sitting-room, or parlor. In the room on the right 
we may see Dutch tiles on the sides of the fire-place. 
If we look carefully, we shall see that they show a 
number of scenes from the Bible. 

Upstairs is the most famous room of all. There 
is the bedstead of Washington. It is very much 
higher than our own bedsteads but it seems com¬ 
fortable. A tall candle on the table reminds us of 
the poorly lighted houses of early times. 

Before leaving we should go to the top floor to 
see the play-room of the children who lived in the 

old house. That was, of course, many, many years 

181 


before any of us were born. Every one will wish to 
spend a little time looking at the simple things that 
made boys and girls happy in those far-off: days. 

A broad field is just north of the Van Cortlandt 
Mansion. It was part of the old Van Cortlandt farm 
two centuries ago. Tippett’s Brook, which we may 
see today, ran through the land from north to south. 
On the field many soldiers of the American army 
camped during the World War. They were waiting 
to be sent to France. Thirsty horses were grateful 
for a drink of the water from Tippett’s Brook. 

In the upper part of the parade ground is the 
famous burial vault of the -Van Cortlandt family. At 
one time during the War of Independence the city’s 
record papers were removed to this vault for safety. 

On the same hill is the spot where Washington’s 



American Museum of Natural History 

“Here Is the Kitchen. Dishes and Plates are on the Table’’ 

182 
















soldiers built big bonfires in the year 1781. The long 
war was nearly over. Our French friends under 
Lafayette and other brave commanders were in the 
southern part of the country. There the last great 
battle was expected to be fought, and Washington 
decided to move from the north. British soldiers 
were in New York and it was to keep these men from 
knowing what was really happening that the Ameri¬ 
cans built their fires on the Van Cortlandt hill. 
While the fires were blazing, it would be hard to see 
behind them, and, besides, the British might think 
that the Americans were not going away. 

One more spot must be visited before we go back 
to the house. Far off in the northeast corner of the 
park there is a pile of rough stones. Near-by is a 
flagpole. On one of the stones we may read the brief 
story. On that spot Chief Nimliam and seventeen 
of his brave red men “gave their lives for liberty.” 
The simple monument is opposite Oneida Street near 
the sidewalk of Van Cortlandt Park East. We can¬ 
not help feeling that the valiant Indians deserve to 
be remembered. 

Let us now return to the mansion and stand on 
its doorstep for a minute or two. The lovely garden 
in front shows how well it is cared for. The paths, 
too, are in excellent condition. As we stand there 
our memory calls up many pictures of the days gone 
by. Butch farmers, and soldiers of England, France, 
Germany, and America have known the house and 
the green field on which it still stands. Gaily dressed 
men and women have attended parties as the guests 

of the Van Cortlandt family. 

183 


Within the shadow of the Van Cortlandt Mansion 
marched the weary soldiers of 1776. Footsore and 
tired, with little enough to eat and too little to wear, 
they moved forward to fight for liberty. Other sol¬ 
diers, just as brave but better fed and better clothed, 
recently marched along the same roads. They were 
the American soldiers of 1918, who were about to 
fight for the liberty of free people everywhere. No 
doubt, there were among these men brothers, cousins, 
or uncles of some of the boys and girls who read this 
book. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What great General stayed at the Van Cortlandt Man¬ 
sion in 1783 ? 

2. What is the mansion used for today? 

3. Where is the burial vault ? What was it used for during 
the War of Independence? 

4. Why did Washington’s soldiers build big bonfires on the 
Van Cortlandt farm in 1781? 

5. What is to be found in the northeast corner of the park ? 


184 



BRONX PARK 

Bronx Park is one of tlie largest in New York. 
Other large parks are Central Park in Manhattan, 
Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Forest Park in Queens, 
and Van Cortlandt and Pelham Bay Parks in The 
Bronx. 

Fine broad driveways have been built between 
Bronx Park and its neighbors to the north. Mosliolu 
Parkway connects it with Van Cortlandt, and Bronx 
and Pelham Parkway connects it with Pelham Bay 
Park. The Bronx River flows through the park from 
north to south. Pelham Avenue divides it into two 
nearly equal sections. In the upper part are the 
beautiful flowers of the Botanical Gardens. In the 
lower part are the animals of the Zoological Park. 

In the days of the War of Independence an old 
house stood on the east bank of the Bronx River. 
The river at that point is now called Bronx Lake. 
Across the lake there is one of the best collections 
of animals to be seen anywhere in this country. As 
we stand at the boat-house, we may look over at the 
beautiful trees which are among the finest within 
many miles of the city. 


185 


The house that we have mentioned was the home 
of the De Lancey family. The name still appears in 
Delancey Street in lower Manhattan. During the 
war with the mother country the De Lanceys sided 
with the British. They did not feel that the colonies 
should separate from England. Some of the mem¬ 
bers of the family even took up arms against the men 
who wished to be free. 

The lady who lived in the De Lancey house seemed 
as loyal to the king as any other member of her 
family, but she did not feel that the patriot-soldiers 
would do her harm. She lived in the old home during 
the years of fighting. Soldiers of both armies were 
not far away. 

At certain times the old lady was very anxious 
about her son who was an officer in the British army. 
We are told that it was his habit to ride up from the 
city to see his mother. Of course, he was in danger 
and really risked his life. In the woods close by the 
house were his enemies. They would have been glad 
to capture him as he rode along. 

How often De Lancey made the trip to his 
mother’s home, we do not know. More than likely 
it was not very often. The feet of his horse may be 
heard no longer, but the old road may still be seen. 
It is the Boston Post Road that we see passing along 
the lakeside close to the waterfalls. There it crosses 
a bridge and soon makes its way out of the park. 

We shall read more about the wonderful things 
in this great playground. It is one of a number in 

our city. When we visit them, let us remember that 

186 


the parks are for all the people. We must do nothing 
that will injure them in any way. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Name six large parks in Greater New York. In which 
borough is each one? 

2. What is in the upper part of Bronx Park? In the lower 
part? 

3. Where is the De Lancey house? 

4. Who lived in it during the War of Independence? 

5. In what army was her son? What did he do? 


187 



BRONX PARK MUSEUM AND FLOWER 

GARDENS 


I THE MUSEUM 

Have you ever stopped to think where the cork 
of a bottle came from ? Do you know that the elastic 
band which you stretch was once the sap of a tree? 
How many kinds of rubber can you name ? Look at 
the carpet on your floor at home ? What do you think 
the threads in it once were ? 



The Botanical Museum in Bronx Park 

188 






















































These are only a few of the many questions which 
the Botanical Museum will answer for you. The 
interesting collections are in a large and handsome 
building that stands in a beautiful section of Bronx 
Park. On each floor are a number of glass cases. 
In some of the tall jars are beans; in others are corn, 
nuts, and foods of various kinds. In one case we 
may see the barks of trees. In another are many 
kinds of seeds. Tobacco, oil, pepper, and cocoa are 
near. 

One of the most interesting things to see is the 
way in which rubber is made. In a tall glass case is 
a piece of the tree from which the sap is taken. The 
pan and smoke-covers used in the making of rubber 
are also to be seen. 

If you would rather stop to learn how cocoa is 
prepared, you may do so. We are very often apt to 
forget that many of the things that we eat and drink 
are brought to our tables from a long distance. Cocoa 
is one of these. 

On the upper floor of the Museum are many more 
interesting things to see and learn. We may not 
know that it has meant much trouble to bring tea to 
our city. In the pictures on the walls of the Museum 
the natives of China are shown at work with their 
tea plants. Bays and days must pass and miles and 
miles must be traveled before the tea is sold in the 
stores near our homes. 

II THE FLOWER GARDENS 

City people do not often know the flowers and 

trees so well as country folks do. Parks and school 

189 


gardens help us very much, but we have too little 
room for nature in our crowded streets. Even if we 
had room, we could never see so many kinds of plants 
and flowers as we should like to see. Not every plant 
or flower will grow where we live. 

In the Botanical Gardens of Bronx Park is a 
very great variety of plant-life. Inside of the large 
glass house there are a number of rooms. Each 
room is heated in the way the plant requires. Every¬ 
thing is arranged according to the needs of nature. 

Have you ever stopped to think how coffee looks 
while it is growing ? On your table at home you will 
see pepper. Where did it come from? In the big 
glass house of the Botanical Gardens coffee and 
pepper are growing. Tall palm trees may also be 
seen; in fact, it would take us a long time to name 
all of the lovely growing things. 

Outside in the big pool are water-lilies. Near 
them are beds of beautiful flowers. Great care is 
taken of every one of them. There are no better 
gardens in America than in Bronx Park. They are 
free to all people every day in the year. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What is to be found in the Botanical Museum? 

2. Name at least three interesting things to see there. 

3. What is to be found in the Botanical Gardens ? 

4. Name three plants growing in the glass house there. 

5. Are the gardens free to every one ? 


190 



THE ANIMALS IN BRONX PARK 


In the southern section of Bronx Park there is a 
large collection of many kinds of animals. They be¬ 
long to the city as the flowers in the Gardens of Bronx 
Park do. They are kept in what is called the 
Zoological Park and may be seen free on any day 
except Monday and Thursday. If either of these 
days is a holiday, it is also a free day when there is 
no charge to enter the Park. 

There are several entrances to the Zoological 
Park. Let us go in at the Eordham entrance. The 



Mrs. Elephant and Baby Ella Go for a Walk 

191 











first animals we shall see are the gentle deer. Some 
are thin and tall; others are tliick-bodied and short. 
Some deer are good-looking with their fine, large 
horns. Others are not so attractive. Here are white 
deer, red deer, and black deer. Spotted deer and 
deer without spots run about inside of the iron fences. 
There are also American deer and foreign deer. 

In a minute or two we may see the cages of the 
eagle family. As we look at the eagle let us remember 
that it is the bird that our country has selected for 
decorating some of our coins. One of the great men 
of the days of Washington was Benjamin Franklin. 
It was this gentleman who thought that our national 
bird should be the turkey. The eagle was chosen in¬ 
stead. At Thanksgiving time we seem to like best the 
bird that Benjamin Franklin suggested. 

A little beyond the eagle cages are some of the 
animal houses. Large and small, wild and tame 
animals are to be seen. In one of the fine, large 
houses which we shall visit next lives the lion, “the 
king of beasts. ” His shaggy head makes us feel that 
he knows he is strong and handsome. He enjoys 
plenty of light and air and room. 

We are now close to one of the largest animals 
living anywhere in the world. As we stop to look 
at the elephant with his tall, swaying body, we know 
how strong he is. Let us watch him as he takes his 
food. It makes no difference whether it is little or 
much. The long trunk seizes it and never fails to 
put it just where it should be. 

One of the most interesting things in the park is 

the beaver pond which is not far from the elephant 

192 


house. This pond was laid out for the beavers be¬ 
tween the hills. It is the right place for these busy 
creatures. They seem to know this for they are mak¬ 
ing the most of it. The dam was built by the little 
animals themselves. It is forty feet long and four 
feet high. The beavers cut down the trees and peeled 
off the bark with their big sharp teeth, floated the 
poles down the stream and then put them in their 
place. Out of the sides of the pond they dug mud 
which they carried between their paws as they swam. 
With this mud they filled up the spaces between the 
logs. 

There are many more animals which everybody 
should see. Crawling snakes and swimming seals, 
birds with bright feathers, and turtles with heavy 
shells on their backs are in this wonderful park. 

Before we leave the park let us turn aside and 
stop a moment to see the famous Rocking Stone. It 
is one of the oldest things in the whole world. No 
one can tell how old it is. Long, long ago a great 
blanket of ice and snow covered what is now Bronx 
Park. When it melted, this large stone was left 
where it is today. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What do we find in the Zoological Park? 

2. What bird decorates some of our coins? 

3. What bird did Benjamin Franklin wish chosen for our 

national bird? 

4. What animal is called the ‘ 1 king of beasts ’ ’ ? 

5. How does the elephant eat his food? 

6. How did the beavers make their dam? 

7. How was the Rocking Stone left in the park? 

193 



THE LORILLARD MANSION IN BRONX 

PARK 


Many years ago a gentleman named Pierre Loril- 
lard owned a large part of what is now Bronx Park. 
There he built a big stone house which is still known 
as the Lorillard Mansion. It is in one of the most 
beautiful places in the whole park. Near it the 
Bronx River flows along. All about the house are 
tall old trees of many kinds. Nowhere else is it more 
lovely. 

In planning his home Pierre Lorillard did not 
forget the amusement of the children. Near his 
house he set up a hedge in the form of what is called 
a maze. The hedge wound round and round and was 
high enough to prevent the children from seeing 
where they were going, once they were inside. They 
had to try again and again before they found their 
way out. After a while when they did find the right 
path, they could come out quite easily. 

The old mansion is on a fine, high hill overlooking 
the Bronx River. South of it Pierre Lorillard built 
a mill where he prepared a kind of tobacco goods. 
In order to get a large supply of water to turn the 
wheels of his mill, he changed the course of the river. 

Then he put a dam across it. Over this dam the water 

194 


flowed and made the mill wheels go round. Pierre 
Lorillard had really made a beautiful waterfall. 

Close to the big stone mansion a garden was laid 
out. Many flowers had been brought over from 
France, the country from which the Lorillard family 
had come. 

On March 26,1923, the old Lorillard Mansion was 
nearly burned down by a fire caused by a spark from 
the chimney falling on the roof. The building was 
then being used as a museum. Many of the valuable 
old pictures, relics of Colonial days, and other 
material which were kept in this building were 
destroyed. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What did Pierre Lorillard do to amuse his children ? 

2. How did he use his mill? 

3. What power did he use to run the mill? W 7 hat did he 
have to do to get this power? 

4. For what purpose was the Lorillard Mansion used? 

5. What happened to the Lorillard Mansion? 


195 



RODMAN DRAKE PARK AT HUNT’S POINT 


If we had been walking along Broadway near 
Vesey Street on a spring morning more than a hun¬ 
dred years ago, we might have seen two young men 
who seemed to enjoy each other’s company very 
much. One was in business; the other was studying 
to be a doctor. Their names were Fitz-Greene Hal- 
leck and Joseph Rodman Drake. Both were poets 
and loved to write about New York. 

In the afternoon after the day’s work Ilalleck 
used to leave the bank where he was employed and 
me’et Drake. They would then stroll over to City 
Hall Park and sit down to have a chat until it was 
time to take dinner. On holidays these young men 
were often on their way to visit friends at Hunt’s 
Point. It was a great distance in those days. There 
were no subways and, generally, the trip was made 
by boat. It was a long journey by land or by water. 

The mansion that Drake and Halleck liked to 
visit was the home of the family of Thomas Hunt. 
It stood for more than a hundred years. Thomas 
Hunt was one of the earliest settlers in what we now 
call the Borough of The Bronx. From his house fine 
views might be had in every direction. 

When Hunt’s Point Avenue was widened and 

196 


made longer a few years ago, it was thought that a 
little graveyard would have to be destroyed. But a 
number of people felt that the burial ground should 
be kept as a sacred spot. Within the Rodman Drake 
Park we may still see the tombstone of the young 
doctor who was Halleck’s friend. In the year 1820, 
at the early age of twenty-five, he died. 

The Borough of The Bronx may be proud to have 
this little park as the resting place of one of the city’s 
poets. Joseph Rodman Drake was a lover of his 
country, of his city, and of the rivers near his home. 
One of his best known poems is called The American 
Flag. Another poem is called The Bronx . A third 
tells a fairy story of the Hudson River. 

When young Drake died, his friend Halleck wrote 
a short but beautiful poem. Two of its lines were 
cut into the stone above his grave. Here they are: 

None knew him but to love him; 

None named him but to praise. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Who was Joseph Rodman Drake? Who was Fitz-Greene 
Halleck ? 

2. How did Drake generally go to Hunt’s Point? Whom 
did he visit there? 

3. Where was Drake buried? 

4. What did Drake love to write about? 

5. Name two of Drake’s poems. 


197 



POE COTTAGE AND PARK IN FORDHAM 


“It has been a hard journey for poor Virginia,” 
Edgar Allan Poe thought to himself as he entered the 
little house in Fordliam in the year 1846. “But the 
country air and the green fields will do her good, I 
hope.” 

The journey had been both long and tiring. For 
some time before that spring day Mrs. Poe had not 
been well. She had lived from time to time in the 
city, but it was felt that a change to the village of 
Fordham would make her stronger. 

In those days New York was growing very fast, 
but there were still tall trees and green grass on the 
greater part of Manhattan Island. What is now The 
Bronx was farm land and small villages. Upper 
Manhattan was much the same. It was to the coun¬ 
try, therefore, that Edgar Allan Poe removed for the 
benefit of his wife’s health. Fordham was then a 
little village on the Harlem River in what in our 
time is the large Borough of The Bronx. 

Edgar Allan Poe was one of our American 
writers. Some day you will read his poems and 
stories. Although he did not live to be an old man, 
we shall always remember many of the pieces that he 
wrote. 

Not long before the Poes went to Fordham the 

198 


people of New York had built a bridge across the 
Harlem River. Water was brought over the bridge 
for use in the city. It was not far from High Bridge 
that Poe lived, and the narrow road to the hilltop 
was one that the poet liked to climb very much 
indeed. 

For some months after his removal to the little 
white cottage, there was anxious waiting to see if the 
change from the city would help Virginia. In those 
sad, dark days the poet tried to work at his desk 
upstairs with only the purring of a friendly cat to 
give him joy. Downstairs lay the poor sufferer. At 
first, she had only a bed of straw, but later a kind 
friend gave her a better one. The greatest comfort 
in that unhappy time was Mrs. Clemm, Virginia 
Poe’s mother. No person could have been more at¬ 
tentive to the sick woman. Besides Mrs. Clemm there 



(c) Bronx Society of Arts, Sciences and History 
Edgar Allan Poe’s Cottage 

199 






























was an old lady in the neighborhood, who was also 
very kind and helpful. 

As the weary days passed by, it was clear that 
death was near. On one cold January morning the 
little cottage in Fordham was in deep sorrow. Edgar 
Allan Poe had met with the greatest loss in his life. 

Two years more of trouble and sadness were spent 
in the old frame house before the poet left it. He 
had already written several of his best poems there. 
One of these pieces, which it is believed he planned 
while he lived in Fordham, is called The Bells . It 
makes you feel that you are listening to the music 
of sweet and lovely bells. 

Three years had gone slowly by since the day when 
Poe first entered the Fordham cottage. Every even¬ 
ing the people had seen the lights in the windows. 
In the year 1849 they were lit by other hands for 
one day Edgar Allan Poe moved away. Before the 
snows of winter had fallen he died. 

A few years ago the people of New York thought 
that the cottage in which Poe had lived should be 
moved to a park on the east side of the Grand Con¬ 
course. There it stands today, and hundreds of 
visitors go to see it every year. It is open, free to all. 

QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Why did Poe and his wife, Virginia, go to Fordham to 
live? 

2. Was Fordham a part of New York in the time of Poe? 

3. What did Edgar Allan Poe do? 

4. Why was High Bridge built? 

5. Name one of the poems written by Poe? 

6. Where does Poe’s cottage stand today? 

200 



BOROUGH OF QUEENS 
































THE BOWNE HOUSE IN FLUSHING 


It was a sunny morning in the year 1672. The 
old clocks in the farmhouses were about to strike 
eleven. It was the first day of the week, and many 
people were to be seen slowly walking along the dusty 
paths toward two tall oak trees. These giants had 
been shading the spot for at least two hundred years. 
Two hundred years more were to pass before they 
would be seen no longer. 

Under the big branches of the oaks the people 
stood in the shade waiting patiently and speaking in 



The Bowne House 
203 













a low tone. They seemed to be very simply dressed 
but all were happy and content. Nothing but the 
warm, golden sunshine sparkled on the bright green 
grass. 

“Friend Fox hath journeyed far,” we might have 
heard a lady say. 

“Yes, sister, far indeed,’’ remarked another. 

“Oyster Bay is a pretty mile from here,” a third 
lady said. “And he hath been traveling a great deal 
besides. ’ ’ 

Then a few minutes passed quietly. 

“It was good of Friend Bowne to offer his house 
for these meetings,” said an elderly gentleman in a 
broad-brimmed hat. 

“It was good of him, yes, it was; very good, in¬ 
deed,” was the reply. 

“Friend Bowne hath suffered much, too,” re¬ 
marked a neighbor standing near. Then a moment 
of silence followed. “Governor Stuyvesant will 
trouble him no more, we may be sure.” 

So the peaceful members of the Society of 

Friends spoke of their neighbor, John Bowne. He 

had displeased Governor Stuyvesant who sent him 

to Holland. The people there did not agree with the 

Governor. Tliev set John Bowne free and let him 

«/ 

return to America. 

The Bowne house was just eleven years old in 
1672. It stands not far from Broadway in Flushing 
on what is now called Bowne Avenue. Close by is a 
tall tree which still shades the old house as it has been 
doing for many, many years. 

The Bowne House, as it is called, was a favorite 

204 


meeting place of the Quakers. George Fox was their 
greatest leader. Some day you will read of how the 
Quakers made their home on the banks of the Dela¬ 
ware River. They called their city Philadelphia. 
The word means brotherly love . It is now one of 
the largest cities in our country. 

Let us think of these peaceable people as they 
went to listen to George Fox. Under the oak trees 
he talked to them. Afterwards, the great speaker 
wrote of the meeting. Here are some of his words: 

“We had a very large meeting, many hundreds 
of people being there—some coming thirty miles. A 
glorious and heavenly meeting it was (praised be the 
Lord God!) and the people were much satisfied.” 

On the spot where the oak trees once spread their 
branches, we may see a large stone today. On a 
sign-board outside of the old house", we may read 
these words: 

THE BOWNE HOUSE 
ERECTED BY JOHN BOWNE 
IN 1661 

EARLIEST MEETING PLACE 
IN FLUSHING 

OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Who was George Fox? 

2. What did Governor Stuyvesant do to John Bowne? What 
happened to Bowne when he reached Holland? 

3. What was the Bowne House used for in 1672? 

4. How was Philadelphia settled? What does the name 

mean? 

5: Who were the Quakers ? 

205 



NEWTOWN AND THE MOORE AND DE WITT 

CLINTON HOUSES 


From earliest times men and women, both Dutch 

and English, seem to have liked the shores of Long 

Island and the banks of Newtown Creek. They found 

•/ 

that Indians, too, had been fond of the same places. 
Indian, Dutch, and English names may be seen in 
the Borough of Queens even to this day. 

One of the first settlements was hardly a year old 
when the red men became angry and destroyed it. 
Another was started a little later on. Besides this, 
there were others within a few years. Dutch and 
English settlers lived side by side from the begin¬ 
ning. Hempstead, Flushing, Maspeth, Newtown, and 
Jamaica were all settled more than two hundred 
fifty years ago. Of course, when we say settled, we 
mean by a very few persons. Only a house here and 
there could be seen for a long time. A little church 
stood on the main road near the middle of the town. 

The old settlement of Newtown is now called the 
Second Ward of the Borough of Queens. Within the 
ancient town were several villages. One of them was 
called Newtown Village but is now known as Elm¬ 
hurst. Another village still bears its old name. It 
is the Indian name, Maspeth. 

206 


THE MOORE HOUSE 


Among the oldest houses in New York is the 
Moore House on the Shell Road at Broadway in Elm¬ 
hurst which, as we have just read, was formerly 
called Newtown Village. For more than two hundred 
fifty years the storms of winter have come and 
gone while the old dwelling has lived on. Only the 
middle part, however, is so old. The eastern part 
was built shortly before the War of Independence, 
but the western part is much younger. 

Captain Samuel Moore seems to have been a good 
builder, for the Moore House is still in excellent 
condition. Captain Moore was the son of a clergy¬ 
man, the Reverend John Moore, who was one of the 
earliest men to settle in what is now the Borough of 
Queens. During the time of Governor Peter Stuy- 
vesant the family had to give up their house and 
move to another part of the town. The Dutch Gover¬ 
nor said that he needed the place for the new school¬ 
master. It was then that the Moore House was built. 


THE DE WITT CLINTON HOUSE 

Near the point where Maspetli Avenue meets 
Betts Avenue is the De Witt Clinton House. It is 
not so old as the Moore House but is in very poor 
condition. There were once beautiful trees, grass, 
and flowers near the house, but today it stands alone 
and is greatly changed. 

One of the most famous men of a century ago was 
De Witt Clinton. His name has been given to a high 

207 • 


school for boys in the Borough of Manhattan. A Hud¬ 
son Biver steamboat also bears his name. De Witt 
Clinton was mayor of our city at one time and later 
governor of our state. Boys and girls should remem¬ 
ber him, for he did a great deal for the public schools. 
There was a time when the schools needed a good 
friend and Be Witt Clinton was ready and willing 
to help them. 

A beautiful story is told of the mother of Mrs. 

De Witt Clinton. It is this storv which lias made the 

«/ 

house in Maspetli worth keeping. We hope that'it 
will never be torn down. 

We remember that the Bowne House still stands 
in Flushing which is not far from Newtown. A cen¬ 
tury ago these little villages on Long Island were 
quiet farming country. No trolley-cars disturbed 
their people as they slept at night. No steamboat 
or factory whistle was ever heard in those days. New 
York was really a good distance away. Young men 
used to go to the fields of Long Island for a holiday. 
It was a pleasant trip on horseback. 

One day a stranger was seen in the sleepy old lane 
near the tall oak trees that stood across the main road 
from the Bowne House in Flushing. The stranger 
rode a fine horse and seemed to be enjoying the sun¬ 
shine of a warm but lovely day. Now it happened 
that Daniel Bowne’s daughter was in the field that 
formed a part of her father’s farm. Thirty well- 
cared for cows were there also, for it was one of her 
duties to look after them. Some of the cows were 
lying down in the shade. Others were standing gaz¬ 
ing about, as only cows know 1iow t to do. 

208 


“Whose place is this?” asked the stranger, as he 
drew up his horse’s rein. 

“It is my father’s,” replied the young lady. “His 
name is Daniel Bowne.” 

John Bowne, who had built the house in which 
the girl lived, had been one of the first settlers of 
Flushing. 

The young man was in business in New York. He 
owned a large house in the city and a country house 
in Newtown. The city house was not far from where 
Brooklyn Bridge now enters the lower part of Man¬ 
hattan. Walter Franklin had thought it would be a 
pleasant ride out to his country home on Long Island. 
This is how he came to meet young Hannah Bowne 
in Flushing. 

It was the custom of those early days to offer a 
chair or a refreshing drink to tired travelers. We 
are not surprised, therefore, that Hannah asked 
Walter Franklin to stop and have a cup of tea. This 
he was pleased to do and at once dropped from his 
tired horse. 

Within a few minutes Daniel Bowne and his 
visitor were enjoying a friendly chat. They talked 
of the farm and the cows. They talked of the weather 
and the crops. Hannah, too, soon joined them and 
served tea. We may be quite sure that a cup of tea 
never tasted so refreshing as when Hannah Bowne 
served it. As evening came on, the traveler mounted 
his horse and said good-bye. 

In our time we may see a bronze tablet on one of 
the pillars of Brooklyn Bridge. Let us learn what 

it has to say. On that spot once stood the house in 

209 


which President Washington lived in the earliest 
days of our country’s life. It was to this house that 
Walter Franklin brought his bride, the young 
Quaker girl, Hannah Bowne. 

Many years passed by while a little girl was grow¬ 
ing up in the Franklin family. One day this little 
Franklin daughter was to live in the De Witt Clinton 
House in Newtown. There the famous American 
with his wife and family lived for a number of years. 
It was their country home. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What happened to the first settlement at Newtown? 

2. Name four towns on Long Island settled during early 
colonial days. 

3. YvTiat is Newtown village called today? 

4. Where is the Moore House? 

5. How did it happen that the Moore House was built ? 

6. Who was De Witt Clinton? 

7. Where was Clinton’s country home? 

8. Tell the story of how Mrs. Clinton’s mother met Walter 
Franklin. 


210 



THE KING MANSION IN JAMAICA 


If we had been living in the year 1790, we might 
have seen persons whose names are known to every¬ 
body today. As we walked along Wall Street, we 
might have noticed men going to and from the build¬ 
ing where the new nation’s business was being carried 
on. Our country had just begun its work under 
George Washington, the first President. Old Federal 
Hall was the capitol building of the United States. 

Among the men coming out of the Capitol we 
should have noticed two who were busily talking 
about some important matter. One was a rather short 
young man named Alexander Hamilton. He and the 
President had been good friends for a long time. The 
other young man was the new senator from New 
York, Rufus King. 

As the two friends reached Broadway, they 
stopped for a minute. “Good morning, Senator, I 
hope you enjoy your trip home this fine day,” said 
Secretary Hamilton. “It’s good weather for riding 
into the country.” 

“Good morning, Mr. Secretary, I wish you could 
come with me,” replied Senator King. Two hand¬ 
some horses and a coach were waiting for the senator 

who was soon on his way home. 

211 



New YorTc Historical Society 

“Old Federal Hall Was the Capitol of the United States’ ’ 

The distance from Wall Street to Rufus King’s 
house in Jamaica does not seem great today. It can 
be covered in a few minutes. In the year 1790 it took 
much longer. Many a jolt was felt by the traveler 
as his coach moved over the rough, dusty roads. 

Senator King’s house still stands. It is open now 
to visitors. It is a large but rather plain white man¬ 
sion in the old town of Jamaica, Long Island. In 
its day it was the finest house for miles around. The 
beautiful grounds were well-kept and tall trees grew 
near it. A number of new young trees were planted 
by Rufus King. Today they are big and strong. 

. ‘ 212" 











We could not have entered the old mansion in 
the year 1790 unless we had known the family. To¬ 
day we may, for it belongs to the public. About 
twenty-five years ago the house and grounds were 
bought by the people of Jamaica. On any day be¬ 
tween nine and five o’clock we may visit and enjoy 
one of the oldest houses in New York. The house 
is a museum now and the grounds are a public park. 

The library is one of the most interesting rooms 
in the Rufus King Mansion. On the walls up to the 
ceiling are book-shelves filled with books. The oak 
cases and glass doors are very much the same as they 
were over a hundred years ago. Senator King loved 
to study in his big library. Perhaps it was in this 
room that he first thought that there should be no 
more slaves in our country. He was one of the men 
of that early time who believed that all men and 
women should be free. 

Rufus King should be remembered as one of the 
great men of the first years of our nation’s history. 
He was the friend of Washington, Hamilton, and 
other famous persons. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Where was the capital of the United States in 1790? 

2. Who was the first President? 

3. Who was Rufus King? 

4. Where did King live? How did King go to his home 
from New York? 

5. To whom does the King Mansion belong now? 

6. For what purpose is the mansion used today ? 

7. What did Rufus King think about slaves? 

213 





BOROUGH OF RICHMOND 









CAPTAIN BILLOP’S FAMOUS SAIL 


It was a spring day in a year long ago. A little 
vessel in an English harbor was tugging at her ropes. 
She was awaiting the captain’s word to sail. Finally 
the hour came when Captain Billop gave the signal 
to his men. It was not many minutes before the 
Bentley was on her way. 

Christopher Billop’s boat was small but strong. 
The Bentley was not much longer than our street is 
wide, but she was a well-built ship and safely crossed 
the broad ocean. 

Months had passed away when, tired of the long 
journey as we may suppose, Captain Billop entered 
New York Bay. Orders were quickly given to anchor. 
It was in the waters of Staten Island that the Bentley 
ended her voyage. How glad the sailors must have 
felt! A new year had come since they left their 
homes. Now they would have a chance to see a 
strange land and strange faces. 

Only a few years had gone by since the Dutch 
gave up New Amsterdam, as they called New York, 
and the English were ruling the little city. With 
New Amsterdam, Staten Island was also given to the 
English. 


217 


If you look at the map, you will see that Staten 
Island is really nearer New Jersey than New York. 
Some said that it was a part of New Jersey, but 
others said it belonged to New York. 

For a long time nobody seemed to be sure who 
owned Staten Island. The story is told that, at last, 
the English thought they would settle the question. 
It was to be simply done. The rule was made that 
any island in the bay should belong to New York 
if a boat could sail around it in twenty-four hours. 

With most of the islands it was an easy matter. 
But with Staten Island it was different. The island 
was so large that very few believed that any one 
could make the trip in the time set. 

Captain Billop and his ship, the Bentley, were 
still at Perth Ambov near the southern shore of 

C/ 

Staten Island. Here was the captain’s chance to 
show how fast his boat could sail. Here was also 
a chance to try to do what so many thought could 
not be done. So the little vessel was put in order. 
We may be sure that the crew were eager to start. 

When everything was ready, the Bentley began 
her interesting journey. Through the narrow waters 
of Arthur Kill she sailed between the mainland and 
the island. Swiftly she glided through the waters 
into the broad bay. How fast she seemed to move! 
But, was she moving fast enough? Hours passed 
and she was still out of sight. Many persons looked 
anxiously from the shore. One hour more and a new 
day would end the captain’s hopes of making the trip 
in time. Suddenly, as all eyes eagerly watched, the 

Bentley appeared in the distance. Nearer and nearer 

218 


she came until at last she was safe at the starting 
point. 

Captain Billop had sailed around Staten Island 
within the twenty-four hours set for the trip. Indeed, 
some believed that it took only twenty-three hours. 
Others say it was twenty-three and one-half. It 
makes no difference to us. Staten Island seemed to 
be more surely a part of New York from that day 
onward. 

As a reward for what he had done, Captain Billop 
received a large piece of land on the southern shore 
of Staten Island. There he built a house which we 
may still see. It stands in Tottenville and overlooks 
Raritan Bay. Some day we hope the city will buy 



The Billop House 

219 




the old house. There are tall trees and grass and 
plenty of ground about it to make a fine park. The 
view toward the south is beautiful, and many persons 
would enjoy it. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Is Staten Island nearer New York or New Jersey? 

2. Who claimed the island? 

3. How was the matter to be decided ? 

4. Did the Bentley settle the matter? 

5. What was Captain Billop’s reward? 

6. What should the city do for the Billop House ? 


220 



A FAMOUS MEETING AT THE BILLOP 

HOUSE 


SCENE ONE 

Time: Tuesday, September 10, 1776 

Place: The Billop House at Tottenville, Staten 
Island 

Persons: Several British soldiers 

(Through the window of the big room on the 
first floor the British warship, “Eagleis 
seen . A small boat is near.) 

Private Jones (Sweeping the floor): Well, I’m glad 
the warmest weather is over. American summer 
heat doesn’t agree with me. 

Private Williams: I like cool weather and, from what 
I hear, there will be some fine clear days next 
month. It’s pretty cloudy today but maybe it will 
be clear when the Americans come. 

Private Jones: They are expected to arrive tomor¬ 
row morning, I think. 

Private Williams (Moving a chair and a table into 
the room): I hope the Admiral will make them 
see things his way. 

Private Smith (Who has just come in with three 

221 


more chairs) : There will he four persons. One, 
two, three, four—that will be enough. 

Private Jones (As he throws a carpet of moss and 
green sprigs onto the floor): The old house looks 
rather dirty outside, but this room will be clean at 
any rate. 

Private Smith: The table must be in the center, but 
it looks bare without the good things that the Ad¬ 
miral has ordered. Let me see—good bread, cold 
ham, tongue, and mutton. Well, Dr. Franklin 
ought to like that meal. 

Private Jones (Who has stopped to listen to the nam¬ 
ing of the good things to eat): Who are the Ameri¬ 
cans? I haven’t heard, have you? 

Private Smith: Yes, I think I know. Dr. Franklin 
will be one. Mr. Adams will be another. I can’t 
tell the name of the third. He is a very young man 
they tell me. 

Private Williams (Who has been trying to recall the 
American’s name) : I think they say his name is 
Edward Rutledge. He is very young, only about 
twenty-five years of age, I believe. Dr. Franklin 
must be seventy. 

Corporal Sands (Who has just come in) : Well, men, 
how are things going? We must have the room 
all ready and as clean as possible before sundown. 
The meeting will take place tomorrow morning 
at nine o’clock. 

The Three Privates: We’ll have it ready, sir! 

Corporal Sands: I hope nobody looks at the outside 
of the house too closely. But we can’t paint it now. 
It will have to do. 


222 


SCENE TWO 


Time: Wednesday morning, September 11, 1776 

Place: The large room on the first floor of the Billop 
House 

Persons: Lord Howe of the British navy, Benjamin 
Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge. 
Several soldiers are present to serve the dinner. 

(In the center of the room is a table. A num¬ 
ber of chairs have been placed near it. On 
the table are bread, cold ham, tongue, and 
mutton. The day is brighter than yester¬ 
day.') 

Lord Howe (Seated at the table and dressed in the 
uniform of a British admiral. His face seems to 
show that he means to be kind) : Dr. Franklin and 
my other American friends, the King is very 
anxious that we meet today. His Majesty believes 
that we can find some way to stop the war. We 
are of one race and nation and we should be able 
to make peace. 

Dr. Franklin (Who feels stiff after the long trip 
from Philadelphia) : We are pleased to hear you 
say that. Americans love peace, but they love free¬ 
dom, too, Sir. 

Lord Howe (Looking out of the window and then at 
the Americans) : I am indeed glad to talk over 
these matters and shall try to do everything in my 
power to be fair, but, of course, His Majesty could 
never agree to the freedom of this country. Any¬ 
thing else, but not that, might be granted. 

John Adams: We have already declared these 

223 


thirteen colonies free and independent states. We 
are now the united states of America. 

Dr. Franklin: Mr. Adams is quite right. We are 
three Americans and are no longer Colonists. 

Lord Howe: I am not permitted to meet with you as 
Americans. We can do nothing if you are not will¬ 
ing to say that you are still subjects of the King. 

Dr. Franklin: If that is so, our meeting has served 
no useful purpose. We shall have to bid you good 
day, Sir. As soon as we return to Philadelphia, 
we shall report to our Congress. 

Lord Howe: I am truly sorry. The war will have 
to go on. More soldiers will be sent to America. 

Dr. Franklin: The King may suit himself about that, 
of course, Sir, but I ask you to remember that we 
have an army in the field and shall also fight on 
until victory comes to our people and America is 
free. 

{All rise to leave the Billop House. The path 
outside leads to the shore. Lord Howe says 
farewell. The Americans are rowed across 
to the New Jersey side and there begin their 
journey home. Lord Howe returns to his 
ship.) 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. What was the reason for the meeting at the Billop House 
on September 11, 1776? 

2. Who were present? 

3. What did Lord Howe say? 

4. What was Benjamin Franklin’s reply? 

5. Why did the meeting end ? 

6. Did the meeting end the war? 

224 



THE STORY OF FORT TOMPKINS AND 
FORT WADSWORTH 


We remember that before Henry Hudson entered 
the river which bears his name, he had to pass a long 
arm of land called Sandy Hook. A little later he 
saw the hills of a beautiful island. The Dutch named 
this island Staten Island. As the Half Moon sailed 
northward the water seemed to become much nar¬ 
rower. This is still true, of course. Staten Island 
and Long Island are closest at The Narrows which 
is the narrow waterway connecting the Upper and 
Lower Bays. 

In the early days before the white men came to 
America, the red men had a village on the shore of 
Staten Island near The Narrows. When the Dutch 



11 Governor Tompkins Thought That New Forts Should Be Built On 
the Heights Overlooking The Narrows’’ 

225 





settled there, a blockhouse or small fort was built for 
protection. The men were traders and bought furs 
which the Indians had taken from animals killed in 
the woods. 

After the Dutch had lost New Amsterdam and 
the name had become New York, the English ruled 
on Staten Island. A hundred years later the colonies 
were in trouble with the mother-land. The men of 
America had begun to feel that they should be per¬ 
mitted to do many things for themselves. 

One June day in the year 1776 a great many ships 
appeared in the Lower Bay. As the people on Staten 
Island hurried out of their houses, they were sur¬ 
prised to see the white sails coming nearer and 
nearer. At first no one could tell what might happen. 

The ships came closer and closer. Some persons 
with good eyesight made out the leader of the fleet. 
It was a warship called the Greyhound and had a 
British general on board. His name was Sir William 
Howe. Within two weeks a large army had landed 
on Staten Island. Nearly three hundred boats had 
brought the soldiers across the ocean. 

It was not long afterward that the British began 
an important piece of work. Soldiers with shovels 
and hammers and other tools were busily digging and 
building. What do you think they were doing? Not 
far from where the Dutch blockhouse once stood, an¬ 
other was soon to stand. In fact, not one but several 
were to be seen on the shore of Staten Island. 
Pavilion Hill was also one of the places chosen for 
a fort. 

Let us now turn our eyes to another fleet of ships. 

226 


They were British vessels, too. They were not com¬ 
ing up the bay but were sailing out to sea. More than 
seven years had passed since the landing of General 
Howe. It was November 25, 1783. The long war 
was over and America had won her freedom. 

As the last British ship passed through The Nar¬ 
rows, there were many people on Staten Island who 
rejoiced. In the old fort there were American sol¬ 
diers eager to fire a last shot, but they did not do so 
although they had not liked the king’s soldiers and 
the king’s men had not liked them. Suddenly a shot 
was heard. It came from one of the ships and was 
the last that a British gun fired in the War of Inde¬ 
pendence. 

Years passed by after the long war. Then, once 
more, trouble seemed to be at hand. In 1812 our men 
at sea were in danger. France and England were 
fighting and sometimes they forgot that we were at 
peace. Our ships were stopped on the ocean and a 
number of our sailors were taken prisoners. Finally, 
it was thought that we must prepare to fight again. 
This was our second war with England. It did not 
last so Ions; as the first. Most of the battles were 
fought on the sea. Never again have we been at war 
with England. 

The governor of our state at that time was Daniel 
D. Tompkins. Governor Tompkins felt worried over 
New York and said that strong forts should be built 
at once. During the first war with England thou¬ 
sands of soldiers had been on the shore of Staten 
Island. Governor Tompkins wished to prevent any 
more foreign soldiers from landing in America. 

227 


When the old forts were visited, it was found that 
they were of little use. Nobody had taken care of 
them. Governor Tompkins thought that new forts 
should be built on the heights overlooking The Nar¬ 
rows. It was an old place, for this was the spot 
which the Indians, the Dutch, and the English had 
used long, long ago. 

In a short time, therefore, Fort Tompkins and 
Fort Richmond were built. 

The War of 1812 had begun. The new forts 
looked out over the bay and made the people feel 
that they were well protected. In the year 1815 the 
war ended, and America had won. 

Many years later the United States decided to 
tear the old forts down. In their place new and bet¬ 
ter forts were erected. Then a new name appeared 
with Fort Tompkins. It was Fort Wadsworth. Dur¬ 
ing another war, which nearly destroyed our coun¬ 
try, General Wadsworth had fought to help Abraham 
Lincoln, General Grant, and others save the nation. 
General Wadsworth was killed in that long war and 
the people named the fort in his honor. 


QUESTIONS FOR SILENT READING 

1. Why was the fleet of ships coming to New York in 1776? 

2. Where did the British army land? 

3. Did the British build forts on Staten Island? 

4. Tell the story of how the last British gun was fired in 
the War of Independence. 

5. Who was the Governor of New York State in 1812? 

6. What did he want done ? 

7. Where was Fort Tompkins built? 

8. Where is Fort Wadsworth? Why is it so called? 

228 



HOW FIVE LITTLE GIRLS SAW NEW YORK 


SCENE ONE 


Time: Any morning 

Place: A classroom in a Manhattan school 

Persons: Miss Smith, a teacher of a 4A Class, and 
five pupils: May, Ella, Grace, Anna, Mary. 

Miss Smith: Well, children, I am going to ask you 
to do something which you have never done before. 
I wonder how many of you could take a trip on 
Saturday and tell us all about it on Monday. 

May: Would we have to go alone, Miss Smith? 

Miss Smith: Oh! no! You may ask your father or 
mother or big brother or sister to go with you. 

Ella: How far would it be, Miss Smith? 

Miss Smith: Just as far as you care to go, but first 
think I shall tell you the whole plan. You have 
been learning about our great city, but you have 
studied the story only from books in the classroom. 
It would be a good thing for all of you to see the 
city itself. As I know that every pupil cannot do 
this, I am going to ask five pupils who can. I am 
sure that every one would like to take such a trip. 

229 


How many believe their parents would be able to 
go with them'? 


{Eight little girls raise their hands. Upon 
questioning them, the teacher selects Jive, 
namely: May, Ella, Grace, Anna, and Mary. 
Each child receives a piece of paper telling 
her what to do.) 

Miss Smith: Now, I should like each of the five pupils 
to read what I have written on the paper. What 
does your paper tell you, May ? 

May (Rising from her seat and going forward with 
her piece of paper in her hand): “My teacher, Miss 
Smith, would like me to ask my mother to go with 
me to the Borough of Richmond on Saturday. She 
would like me to take a boat at South Perry and 
sail across the bay to Staten Island. There are 
three or four interesting trips to take. One is along 
the north shore to the sailors’ home called Sailors’ 
Snug Harbor. Alexander Hamilton, Governor 
Tompkins, and De Witt Clinton were its friends 
more than a hundred years ago. Another trip is 
inland to Richmond which is one of the oldest set¬ 
tlements on the island. The ancient stone church 
was once a British hospital during the War of In¬ 
dependence. A third trip is along the east shore 
to Ports Wadsworth and Tompkins. A fourth trip 
would take us as far south as Tottenville. ” 

Miss Smith: That w 7 as very well read. It w r as long, 
too. Ella will now read her paper. 

Ella: “My teacher, Miss Smith, would like my mother 

230 


to take me to the Borough of The Bronx on Satur¬ 
day. She says that we may go by subway or 
elevated train. There is a bus line on the Grand 
Concourse. Riverdale may also be visited. It is a 
pretty part of the borough, on the west side. ’ ’ 

Miss Smith: That was well read, Ella. You may now 
read, Grace. 

Grace: “My teacher, Miss Smith, would like me to 
ask my mother to go with me to the Borough of 
Brooklyn on Saturday. She says that Fort Hamil¬ 
ton is an interesting place to see. There is also 
the Institute of Arts and Sciences. This Institute 
is in a large building near Prospect Park. Beau¬ 
tiful pictures and things of nature may be seen 
there. A children’s museum in Bedford Park is 
a branch of the Institute. Conev Island is in this 
borough. Every child knows that it is a great 
amusement place on the shore of the Atlantic 
Ocean.” 

Miss Smith: Well read, Grace! Mary, will you read 
your paper? 

Mary: “My teacher, Miss Smith, wishes me to visit 
the markets of Manhattan Borough. She would 
like my mother to go with me. There are many 
places where people buy food, but there are four 
or five which are very old and widely known. Here 
are their names: Fulton Fish Market, Washington 
Market, West Washington Market, Gansevoort 
Market, and Jefferson Market. Besides these, 
there are many street markets. 

Miss Smith: How well that was read! The fifth little 

girl, Anna, will read her paper. 

231 


Anna: “My teacher, Miss Smith, would like my 
mother to take me to the Borough of Queens on 
Saturday. Thirty-fourth Street, Astoria, and Col¬ 
lege Point ferries, as well as the Long Island Pail- 
road, the subway, and Queensboro Bridge, are ways 
of going from Manhattan. Trolley-cars and ele¬ 
vated trains go from Brooklyn. There are a num¬ 
ber of interesting places to visit, but, perhaps, 
Forest Park would please us most if the day is 
clear/ ’ 

Miss Smith: Now, that, too, was good reading. Next 
week, we shall be readv to hear five stories of the 
boroughs. How interesting they will be! I hope 
each little girl will be able to visit one or more of 
the places mentioned on her paper. 

SCENE TWO 

Time: Monday morning 

Place: A classroom in a Manhattan school 

Persons: Miss Smith, a teacher of a 4A Class, and 
six pupils: Mary, Jane (her sister), Anna, Ella, 
Grace, May 

Miss Smith: Saturday was such a beautiful day that 
I am sure our five pupils visited the five boroughs 
and are now ready to let us know about their trips. 
We shall hear Mary first. I wonder what she saw 
in Manhattan. 

Mary (Coming to the front of the room) : My story 
is so long that I should like my sister Jane to tell 
part of it, if you don’t mind. 

232 


Miss Smith: Certainly she may, Mary, and I am glad 
that your sister Jane is willing to help. Did she 
go with you? 

Mary: Mother took both Jane and me for she thought 
that it would be more interesting for me. We 
started on our trip at one o’clock. There are 
several markets in Manhattan, Mother said, but she 
didn’t believe we could see all of them in one after¬ 
noon. We took the downtown Third Avenue 
elevated train at Forty-second Street and got off 
at Brooklyn Bridge. Then we walked south to 
Fulton Street and turned east. At Front Street 
we saw a big brick building which extended to 
South Street. Across the street on the very bank 
of the East River there were a great many men 
who were weighing fish of all sizes and kinds. 

“This is the famous Fulton Fish Market,” re¬ 
marked Mother. “Every kind of sea food is sold 
here. It is one of the oldest markets in the city. 
Can you tell where it gets its name?” 

“It is on Fulton Street which was named after 
Robert Fulton who invented the first successful 
steamboat,” said Jane. 

“That is right,” said Mother. 

We then walked away to the west across Fulton 
Street. Mother thought it would not be too far, 
so we hurried along. Within a few minutes we had 
crossed the city to Washington Street. On the cor¬ 
ner we saw a sign with two large words in electric 
lights. They were: WASHINGTON MARKET. 
This market covers the whole block. It is very clean 
and brightly lighted, as we soon learned when we 

233 


entered it. It is more than a hundred years old, 
though the present building has not been up half 
so long. Meat, fish, chickens, butter, eggs, cheese, 
fruits, and vegetables may be bought. Many people 
were buying and they made me feel hungry. 
Mother saw some nice, fresh eggs and thought she 
would take a dozen home with her. 

I think, Miss Smith, that Jane could finish my 
story now. 

Miss Smith: Very well, Jane may do so. 

Jane (Coming forward and taking Mary’s place): 

We had to leave in a little while for we still had 
two or three markets to visit. A trolley-car took 
us up to Gansevoort Street. There we saw two 
more markets: Gansevoort and West Washington. 
Gansevoort Market is a large open space near 
where an Indian village once stood, long, long ago. 
Fort Gansevoort was built there during the War 
of 1812 and named after General Gansevoort who 
had been a soldier in Washington’s army. Only 
farmers with vegetables and other things which 
they have raised, may sell at this market. West 
Washington Market is indoors just west of Ganse¬ 
voort. Meat, live chickens, and other kinds of food 
are sold in ten big brick buildings. 

Our last visit was at Jefferson Market, on the 
corner of Greenwich and Sixth Avenues. It is a 
large market where people may buy little or much, 
as they please. It bears the name of Thomas Jef¬ 
ferson who was the third President of the United 
States. 

“I think we must now go home,” said Mother, 

234 


4 4 for it is getting late. The clock on the tower says 
ten minutes of five. Many years ago there was a 
fire-alarm bell in that tower. It was rung when 
a fire broke out in the city. New York was very 
much smaller than it is today.” 

Mother, Mary, and I then took the trolley-car 
crosstown through Eighth Street to Third Avenue. 
In a few minutes we were on the elevated train 
riding toward home. Our afternoon had passed 
too quickly. 

Miss Smith: Very well done, Mary and Jane. I am 
sure you enjoyed your trip. Our second story will 
be Anna’s. She will speak about the Borough of 
Queens. 

Anna: Mother and I went to Brooklyn Bridge. There 
we took the Lexington Avenue elevated train. As 
we rode along, Mother told me how big a park we 
were going to visit. Forest Park is a little larger 
than Prospect Park in Brooklyn but much smaller 
than Central Park in Manhattan. Bronx Park 
covers more ground than Forest Park, and Pelham 
Bay Park is more than three times as large. I 
really could not tell how large Forest Park is until 
I saw it and walked about among its trees. I think 
that is the best way to find out, don’t you, Miss 
Smith ? 

Miss Smith : Yes, Anna, it is, but, of course, we should 
also read what other persons have thought about it. 

Anna: Some of the trees in Forest Park are very old. 
It is well to take care of them. As the years go 
by, a great many more people will like to visit the 
park. It will be pleasant then to have the fine, tall 

235 




trees to give them shade. As one of our poets has 
written, houses and other things may be made by 
men but “only God can make a tree.” 

Mother says that it is a good thing to have parks 
in a city like New York. I think so, too. They 
give us better air, and a place to play and enjoy 
the birds as well as the grass, flowers, and trees. 

Next Saturday, Father is going to take me to 
Rockaway Beach and Park. They are in the 
Borough of Queens and on the shore of the Atlantic 
Ocean. I think that is all, Miss Smith. 

Miss Smith: That must have been a delightful way 
to spend an afternoon out-of-doors. Ella will now 
let us know about The Bronx. I wonder where 
she went on Saturday. 

Ella: Mother took me to Riverdale. She said that 
it would be better to go up the Concourse on an¬ 
other day because, on Saturday afternoon, the 
buses are crowded with people. 

At Forty-second Street subway station, we 
stepped aboard an express train marked: 242’d St. 
Van Cortlandt P’k. But we didn't go so far as 
that. We got off at Two Hundred and Thirty-first 
Street and walked west and then north to River- 
dale Avenue. What a pretty road it is! Tall trees 
shaded us most of the way. At first, we went uphill 
and looked down on the valley below. Then we 
walked along for more than a mile. Riverdale is 
really in the country as well as in the city. North 
of it is the city of Yonkers. To the east across 

Broadway is Van Cortlandt Park. Just south is 

236 


Fort Independence Park which overlooks Spuyten 
Duyvil and Manhattan. 

We reached home at five-thirty after a very de¬ 
lightful trip. 

Miss Smith: Well done, Ella. You have reported 
very nicely. Riverdale is a beautiful part of The 
Bronx. Now, Grace, what did you see in Brooklyn ? 

Grace: I visited Fort Hamilton. At first, Mother 
thought we ought to see the Institute of Arts and 
Sciences, but, as it was such a bright, sunny day, 
Mother said it was a good day to spend out-of- 
doors. So we went on the subway from Times 
Square to the Sixty-eighth Street station of the 
Fourth Avenue line in Brooklyn. 

We walked west to the Shore Road and then 
south toward the fort. How lovely it was! All 
along we could see the waters of New York Bay 
and feel the sea air coming up from the Atlantic. 
We did not go inside of the grounds at Fort Hamil¬ 
ton because we hadn’t written for a pass. Father 
told me in the evening that the fort was built about 
a hundred years ago. A short distance from the 
shore is Fort Lafayette which is named after the 
great Frenchman who helped us in the days of 76. 

Miss Smith: You took one of the most beautiful 
walks in New York. I am sure you must have 
enjoyed it. Now, May, we shall hear from you. 

May: Oh! we had a very delightful afternoon. 
Mother said she would be glad to take me to Staten 
Island. I could hardly wait until I had finished 
my lunch. Then we went to South Ferry at the 

Battery. Mother bought two tickets and we waited 

237 


a few minutes for the boat. When it came, I looked 
out to see its name. It was the Richmond . Mother 
told me that, if we had lived in Brooklyn, we could 
have gone by the Sixty-ninth Street Ferry. 

As we sailed away from the slip, we could see 
Governor’s Island on our left. More than two 
hundred years ago the English governors of New 
York made their homes on this island. On oui* 
right, the Statue of Liberty held up her torch. It 
shows sailors the way at night and has welcomed 
millions of people to America. It was the gift of 
France to the United States. 

Within twenty-five minutes our boat was fast at 
the Staten Island dock. Mother said that we could 
not go very far in one afternoon and see the north¬ 
ern end of the island, too. 

First, we walked to our left along Bay Street. 
Mother wished me to see the old Planters’ Hotel 
at Grant Street. This was the stopping place of 
gentlemen from the South, many years ago. On 
Pavilion Hill, not far away, two forts once stood, 
in the days of ’76 and again in the War of 1812. 

When we returned to St. George, where the 
ferry is, we walked on to see Curtis High School 
at New Brighton. This school was named after 
the American writer of books, George William 
Curtis, who lived on Bard Avenue. 

As it was getting late, and our trip back would 
take about an hour, Mother thought we should re¬ 
turn, and make a second trip to the Borough of 
Eichmond some other time. On the way home she 

told me that if we had kept on along the east shore 

238 


roads, we should have reached Fort Wadsworth. 
We might have taken a trolley ride from St. 
George to Richmond or a ride on the steam trains 
to Tottenville at the southern end of the island. 
Miss Smith: Now we have heard all of the stories. 
May, yours was a good one to have as the last. 
Staten Island is a beautiful borough. 

Children, I am very much pleased with what you 
have done. Kindly tell your mothers that I thank 
them. Some day I hope you will take trips to all 
the important places in New York. Perhaps our 
class will be able to visit the points of interest near 
our school. 


239 


A PAGEANT OF NEW YORK-PAST, 
PRESENT, FUTURE 


Time: The present day 
Place: Any classroom 
Persons: Attending Spirit 

Five Spirits of the Past 
Five Spirits of the Present 
Five Spirits of the Future 

Attending Spirit: Three hundred years have passed 
since the founding of The City of New York in 
the year 1623. We have therefore prepared a little 
pageant called: 

A PAGEANT OF NEW YORK-PAST, 
PRESENT, FUTURE 

Each of the five boroughs will have three spirits 
speak for it: one for the Past, one for the Present, 
one for the Future. Our Pageant will now begin. 
The Spirits of the Past will speak first. 

SCENE ONE 

First Spirit of the Past: I come from Spirit land to 

bid you remember the days when Indians hunted 

240 


on Manhattan Island, the island of hills, and fished 
in its near-by waters; the days when the flag of 
Holland first waved over Fort Amsterdam; the 
days when the English played at their bowls on 
Bowling Green; the days when the Stars and 
Stripes felt the breeze at McGown’s Pass; the 
day, in the year 1898, when Manhattan became a 
borough of the greater city of New York. 

Second Spirit of the Past: I come from Spirit land 
to bid you remember the time when the first set¬ 
tlers lived near Gowanus and the Wallabout; the 
time when the Dutch made their homes in Brook¬ 
lyn nearly three hundred years ago; the time when 
the earliest East River ferry welcomed people from 
Manhattan to the farm lands of Long Island; the 
time when Americans died at Battle Pass to make 
their country free; the time when the old City of 
Brooklyn became a borough of The City of New 
York. 

Third Spirit of the Past: I come from Spirit land 
to bid you remember the early years when, in the 
western part of what is now the Borough of 
Queens, Dutch farmers settled near Flushing Bay 
and Newtown Creek; the early years when English 
men and women settled the eastern part of the 
borough; the later years when railroad and ferry, 
bridge and tunnel, joined Long Island more closely 
to Manhattan and Brooklyn; the year 1898 when 
the greater city of New York was formed and the 
Borough of Queens became part of it. 

Fourth Spirit of the Past: I come from Spirit land 

to bid you remember the days when Jonas Bronck 

241 


built liis bouse near tlie river that, in later times, 
lias been called by his name; the days when many 
English settlements were made in Westchester; the 
days when battles were fought for liberty; the days 
when poets and business men first loved the valley 
of the Bronx and went there to dwell; the days 
when, twenty-five years ago, the Borough of The 
Bronx took its place in The City of New York. 

Fifth Spirit of the Past: I come from Spirit land to 
bid you remember the early years of the island of 
high, sandy banks, as the red men called Staten 
Island; the year 1524, when the daring Verrazano 
saw the island, and the year 1609, when the brave 
Henry Hudson sailed by in the Half Moon; the 
years when the Butch, the English, and the French 
settled on the island in little villages near the shore 
and far inland, too; the year when the island be¬ 
came the Borough of Richmond in The City of 
New York. 

Attending Spirit: We have now heard from the five 
Spirits of the Past and have briefly learned the 
story of the city. Our next scene will tell us of 
New York as it is today. The five Spirits of the 
Present will speak. 

SCENE TWO 

(Enter five Spirits of the Present with At¬ 
tending Spirit.) 

Attending Spirit: The second scene of our Pageant 
will now begin. The five Spirits of the Present 
will speak for the five boroughs. 

242 


First Spirit of the Present: Behold, how large a 
borough Manhattan is today! It is a world in 
itself. Besides the many things which we have 
learned about the island of hills, as the red men 
called it, let us think of the busy millions who live or 
travel in Manhattan every day. Let us remember 
that nearly a million people work in more than 
thirty-five thousand factories and shops where so 
many of the things we use are made and sold. Let 
us remember, too, that people from all the nations 
of the world have come to Manhattan to live. 

For the great army of workers who live outside 
of Manhattan, there are bridges, tunnels, and fer¬ 
ries. Men and women may go to their homes in 
Brooklyn, under the East River, on the East River, 
or over the East River. They may go to Staten 
Island by ferry, to New Jersey by ferry or tunnel, 
and to The Bronx by tunnel or bridge. 

Second Spirit of the Present: Behold, the great, 
growing Borough of Brooklyn! It has as many 
people now as Manhattan has. Its many avenues 
are busy with every kind of work; Bedford and 
Flatbush, Atlantic, Bushwick, and Ocean Avenues, 
Fulton Street, Eastern Parkway, and a number 
of other streets make the borough a giant spider’s 
web. Like Manhattan, Brooklyn has many workers 
in shops and factories and stores. Besides, there 
are several beaches where people may enjoy them¬ 
selves in the summertime. 

Third Spirit of the Present: More and more, Queens 
is becoming a business as well as a home borough. 
There are many good farms still to be seen. Trucks 

243 


and wagons filled with fresh vegetables travel 
along the Merrick Road and Jericho Turnpike, 
Queens Boulevard, Jackson Avenue, and other 
main highways leading to the markets of Brooklyn 
and Manhattan. 

There are miles and miles of water front in this, 
the largest borough of the five. Subways and 
elevated lines are making it easier every year to go 
to and from the borough. The long, white Rock- 
away beaches on the ocean shore give pleasure to 
many persons in the warm days of July and 
August. 

Fourth Spirit of the Present: I speak for the fast¬ 
growing Borough of The Bronx. There are more 
than three times as many people in this borough 
as there were twenty years ago. Hundreds of auto¬ 
mobiles pass through the borough along Broadway, 
Jerome Avenue, the Boston Post Road, the Con¬ 
course, Central Avenue, and other fine highways. 
Three of the largest parks in the city are in The 
Bronx, although it has less land than any other 
borough except Manhattan. 

Fifth Spirit of the Present: Last, but not least in 
some ways, the Borough of Richmond will be 
heard. I speak for the largest island in the city 
and the third largest borough. In number of 
people, it is still the smallest. Many persons travel 
through Staten Island on their way by automobile 
to Philadelphia and other places south of New 
York. Several fine highways are Richmond Turn¬ 
pike, Bridge Avenue, and Richmond Road which 
run through the center of the island. Arthur Kills 

244 


Road and Amboy Road go to the southern end, 
while Richmond Terrace passes along the north 
shore, and Southfield Boulevard runs close to the 
Lower Bay. Farms are still to be seen almost 
everywhere. Many people who work in Manhattan 
and Brooklyn live on Staten Island. In the morn¬ 
ing and early evening, the ferries are crowded with 
these passengers. 


SCENE THREE 

(Enter five Spirits of the Future with Attend¬ 
ing Spirit .) 

Attending Spirit: We have heard from the Spirits 

of the Past and of the Present. The Spirits of 

the Future will now tell us of our hopes for the 

vears to come. 

•/ 

Five Spirits of the Future: We shall speak together 
for, while we come from the five boroughs, our city 
is not five cities but one. The good deeds of each 
borough and of each person make the whole great 
city better. All boys and girls, all men and women, 
should remember this. They should be proud of 
New York and should help it in every way. In 
helping their city they are really helping their 
country and the world, for to New York, millions 
of people come, day after day, week after week. 
Let all of us strive to do our best to make THE 
CITY OF NEW YORK a greater because a better 

place in which future citizens may work and dwell. 

245 














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